Sweet and Sour Chicken

Update 6/2012: Easily the most popular recipe on my blog, this sweet and sour chicken is a miracle of a dish. My husband, Brian, requests it for his birthday, Father’s Day and any other day he has the craving (which seriously would be every day if I was willing to make it that often).

Invented on a college budget more than ten years ago, it is absolutely divine and remains one of our family favorites. A million percent better than any takeout, the chicken bakes up tender with a beautiful crust and is coated perfectly with the sweet and tangy flavors of the sauce.

Over the years, I’ve barely changed the recipe – but thanks to your comments, I have added a few tidbits to help make the whole coating-and-cooking chicken thing a bit less messy. Make this! You’ll love it, I promise.

Sweet and Sour FAQ:Here are a few commonly asked questions about this recipe (so you don’t have to read through all 660+ comments to find the answer you are looking for!Question: Can I cut down the sugar?Answer: Many people have commented that they have reduced the sugar to 1/2 cup and I’ve done the same (if not more) over the years, too.

Question: The vinegar smell is really overpowering when I bake this. Is that normal?Answer: Yes. Vinegar, while baking, gives off a strong aroma, but the strong aroma/taste bakes off during the recommended time in the recipe leaving a delicious sweet and sour taste.

Question: Can I cut down on the amount of vinegar because of the aforementioned question?Answer: That’s up to you. Many people in the comments have adapted the recipe ingredients; however, other than sometimes reducing the sugar to 1/2 cup and using a different type of vinegar (see the question below), I make the recipe as written and can’t vouch for results for other adaptations. I have made this recipe at least 50 times (probably more) and even though the vinegar seems overpowering, the recipe works. Promise. If you are determined to adapt the vinegar, several others have used half vinegar and half pineapple juice for a milder taste (but you’ll lose a bit of the sweet and sour punch).

Question: I don’t have apple cider vinegar OR I hate apple cider vinegar OR {insert a reason you don’t want to use apple cider vinegar}, can I substitute another type of vinegar?Answer: Why yes! I often substitute rice vinegar which has a slightly milder/sweeter taste and many others in the comments have substituted the same or even used white vinegar. Feel free to experiment.

Question: Surely there is a misprint in baking time. An hour for small chicken pieces? What’s the deal?Answer: I encourage you to make the recipe as written. Like I said above, I’ve made this recipe many times and the hour baking time is not a typo. Keep in mind that you don’t want to cook the chicken through while browning it. That step should be a quick flash in the pan in hot oil in order to give the chicken a crispy outer layer, but the pieces should still be raw in the center. Many have commented that they have cut the baking time down to 30 minutes. You can try that; the sauce won’t thicken as much as if baking for the full hour.

Question: Are you sure I’m supposed to put the chicken in the cornstarch mixture before the egg? That just seems wrong.Answer: I’m not often right, but in the case of cornstarch and egg, I am. The chicken is coated with cornstarch and then dipped in egg.

Question: Can I add pineapple or other veggies to this while baking?Answer: I don’t see why not! Many commenters have tried that with good results.

Question: Can I prep this ahead of time? Can it be made into a freezer meal?Answer: I have not tried either but feel free to experiment! Someone commented in the 500’s about freezing it if you want to look up specifics.

Question: What kind of ketchup do you use?Answer: I always try and use the Heinz Natural brand (without HCFS) but when I can’t find it, I go with regular Heinz.

Note: if you like extra sauce, double the sauce ingredients – pour half over the chicken and follow the recipe instructions; pour the other half in a small saucepan and cook the sauce on the stovetop at a simmer for 8-10 minutes until it reduces and thickens. Serve it on the side of the chicken.

Ingredients

Chicken:

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2 pounds)

Salt and pepper

1 cup cornstarch

2 large eggs, beaten

1/4 cup canola, vegetable or coconut oil

Sauce:

1/2 to 3/4 cup granulated sugar (depending on how sweet you want the sauce)

4 tablespoons ketchup

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon garlic salt

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Cut the chicken breasts into 1-inch pieces. Season with salt and pepper. Place the cornstarch in a gallon-sized ziploc bag. Put the chicken into the bag with the cornstarch and seal, tossing to coat the chicken.

Whisk the eggs together in a shallow pie plate. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat until very hot and rippling. Dip the cornstarch-coated chicken pieces in the egg and place them carefully in a single layer in the hot skillet.

Cook for 20-30 seconds on each side until the crust is golden but the chicken is not all the way cooked through (this is where it's really important to have a hot skillet/oil). Place the chicken pieces in a single layer in a 9X13-inch baking dish and repeat with the remaining chicken pieces.

Mix the sauce ingredients together in a medium bowl and pour over the chicken. Bake for one hour, turning the chicken once or twice while cooking to coat evenly with sauce. Serve over hot, steamed rice.

873 Responses to Sweet and Sour Chicken

I tried this recipe about a month ago and I LOVED it! What a great recipe! I’m posting it on my blog. I hope you don’t mind. I will definitely link it to your blog though. Did you come up with this recipe? It was the BEST sweet and sour chicken I’ve ever had! Better than any restaurants’.

Just tried this and LOVED it! Added it to my recipe list, crediting you of course. (I also borrowed your pic for now. It was so yummy, I was too busy eating it to take a picture of it. I will take one next time I make it, in a week or two, if not sooner!!! I hope that’s okay.) Thanks so much for sharing!!

I just found your blog a few days ago and made this chicken recipe tonight. My family LOVED it!! Now I need to spend some time looking through your recipes to find some more goodies. I am a follower now and am looking forward to reading your new posts. Great blog!!laurie

OMG, I’m going crazy over your blog!! My husband loves it when I make stir fry but I cant take the credit because I always use bottled sauce which I hate using, it contains too much sodium and full of artificial flavors. I want to cut back on processed foods and make healthy, home made food for my family. You have inspired me to do so!! Thank you!

Omg!! I tried it and it came out so good. thanks for the recipe. ill definitely will di it again for my family. I highly recomend this sweet and sour chicken!!!! I even had my 4 year old help, he enjoy it as much as i did. thanks again!!!!

OK, this was FABULOUS! I’ve followed The Sisters’ Cafe blog for some time, but I just recently saw the reference to this blog. I’ve been in eye-candy heaven! There are so many recipes I’m dying to try. I made this last night and my husband went crazy for it! My kids were all thumbs up as well. Thanks for a great recipe!

Thank you for another great recipe! We are eating this one in just a few minutes, but I am almost full from “sampling” it already! I cut some onion, green bell pepper and pineapple into chunks and mixed them in with the chicken, and it is SO good!

I am posting another comment because THIS IS SOOO GOOD!!! WE LOVE THIS MEAL!! I think I’ve made it about 4 times in the last 2 months. It is the best chicken ever, I think. Oooh, it is perfectly textured, flavored. It tastes just as good for leftovers, too. We add chopped green peppers to it. It is the perfect fresh “green stuff” to be added. LOVE LOVE LOVE!

Michelle – I’m so bummed this didn’t work out for you! I don’t think it matters if your vinegar has been around for a while (if stored in a cool, dark place, vinegar can last a LONG time). And you are right it does call for 1/2 cup. I use apple cider vinegar, too. I’m baffled as to why the vinegar would have been so overpowering. The dish definitely has a vinegar “feel” to it but it shouldn’t be too overpowering. Did your sauce thicken up when you baked it? If you dare try it again, perhaps try cutting the vinegar in half. I wish I could be of more help. I’m sorry!

This is an awesome meal! My hubby LOVED, LOVED, LOVED it and suggested that I make it when his parents/family come for family night sometime soon. It is a bit labor-intensive, but SO worth it, IMO! I did end up using more of the egg-mixture than it called for, though…maybe my eggs were a little small (or I used slightly more chicken). Thanks!

Memoria – I laughed at your P.S. I’ll pass that along to my husband – great advice! I’m glad you liked this sweet and sour chicken. You may not have many great Chinese restaurants but I’m jealous about Austin’s other great cuisine. (I used to live in Houston and loved to visit Austin just for the food!)

Bethany – I’m glad I’m not the only snitcher around that tastes a meal before it hits the table! I’m glad that you enjoyed this and hope your family did, too. And I hope the cookie dough truffles tasted as good once they were dipped. Thanks for checking in!

I made this and it was a big hit!! Thank you! I really expected the prep to take longer than it did, but I did the cornstarch/egg dipping in batches (handful of chicken, rolled all that around in the cornstarch, then rolled all of it around in the egg and then pan-fried as directed) so it really was fairly fast prep. We doubled the recipe but I substituted Splenda for the sugar in the 2nd half of the sauce so as to cut down on SOME of the sugar. I wouldn’t do it that for all the sugar because I think there would be a texture difference, but it worked great for half the sauce.Thanks again! Lisa

Melanie… I made this tonight and it was a total flop! I’m sure I must’ve done something wrong because everyone raved about it… I used apple cider vinegar and it was completely overpowering… I’m actually laying in bed and my house still smells like vinegar. The vinegar was a tad old but not significantly old. I used 1/2 c and reread the recipe to make sure I did everything right… any thoughts?

Thank you for ALL your recipes!! This one is quite delicious – I have made it a few times now! Just reading last comment, apple cider vinegar – I just used regular – I will have to try it like that!I seriously study your recipes and plan my grocery list from your blog!! I cannot thank you enough!!! Tomorrow night I will try your Mac & cheese (meatless friday for us) so I am happy to have that recipe – I have tried Martha Stewart’s mac & cheese recipe – but did not care for it – yours sounds much better!

Bentley Family – what a fun comment to get. Thank you! I hope the next two weeks are filled with great meals and not terrible disappointments! You’ll have to let me know either way. Anyway, thanks again for your comment.

So, I love your blog and have found many delicious recipes on it! Thank you! I was wondering if you would mind if I share some of our favorites on my food blog, all credit would be given to you of course. Thanks, Lindsay

AmISparky – you are right, cornstarch then egg is less messy – you’ll end up with a different type of crust on the chicken but if you are going for less mess it is probably the way to do it! I’m glad you liked this and hopefully next time you’ll be able to make the extra sauce (that’s my favorite part).

Nina – several people have commented that they have added things like peppers and pineapple and I am for sure going to do that next time – especially after your rave review. Thanks for letting me know!

Melanie- I just made this for the first time last night. I was introduced to your blog through a friends (PheMOMenon)and have been loving it ever since. I must say that when I planned my next two week menu, I got almost all of my recipes from your blog. I am so excited to try them all. They all look heavenly. I am especially excited to try the french loaf and another no kneed bread you had on your blog. Thank you for your fun ideas, you may have just saved me. I find it so hard to come up with dinner ideas being a full time working mom. You took the guess work out this time! I am so grateful!

I reciently found your blog and it has become one of my favorites. I love your pictures and your recipes are the type that my family love to try. We had this sweet and sour chicken for dinner last week and everyone agreed that it was a keeper!

I tried this about a week ago, and it was perfect!! Wow! I had to call my mom and tell her about it. In Austin, there aren’t many good Chinese restaurants (IMHO). So, it is nice to know that I can make my favorite, Chinese dishes on my own. Thanks!

P.S. If your husband wants the dish every day, then HE should make it! 🙂

I’m so happy I found your blog! I love making recipes that someone else has tested and has said is delicious. This was fantastic! I upped the heat to 350 for faster cooking, and added sauteed bell peppers and onions. It was really yummy. We served it over brown rice for extra fiber. I’ll be making this again. Thanks!!

Melanie – I finally made this for my family last week and it was a hit all the way around! I hope you don’t mind, but I shared your recipe on my blog today!Thanks again for sharing such a great recipe! It is definitely going into our regular rotation.

I linked to your blog from a friends, and YUM this chicken is DELICIOUS. I can’t even believe I made it – I love how simple it was! Thanks and I can’t wait to try the new pasta dish you just posted too 🙂

this was great! DH was impressed. So am I. We fed 2 adults and 2 small kids (3+1) this and I have 2 lunches worth left over. Can’t wait for lunch tomorrow 🙂 I’m corn intolerant so I used flour and it was fine. Definitely a keeper

Alicia – so glad you found me through the Sisters’ Cafe. One of the sisters that posts there (Erin) is married to my brother. She has a sister named Melanie, too, so it gets confusing. Lots of people think that I am the Melanie that posts to the Sisters Cafe, but I’m not.

Anyway, glad you liked this sweet and sour! Thanks for leting me know.

i’m guilty of sometimes skipping a post if there’s no accompanying picture or if the picture is unappetizing. this is not a problem for you, as your pictures always seem to stop me in my tracks. this one’s no exception–your chicken looks great. 🙂

Lisa – thanks for checking back in to let me know you liked this. Interesting substitution on the sugar – I’m glad it worked for you. I’m always glad when commenters let me know their adaptations and changes because it’s great to get new ideas. Thanks for commenting!

Made this friday night and it was so good!! No leftovers here. I just started a food blog and the last 2 recipes have been ones I have gotten from your blog. Thanks for sharing, and I hope you don’t mind me sharing them on my blog. I have linked them to you. 🙂 Thanks!

Jennifer – it is always fun to make a recipe your own and you definitely did that with your modifications. They sound great! Thanks for letting me know you and your husband liked this. My husband would whole-heartedly agree with yours – this is his favorite dinner ever.

This is baking away in my oven right now. Only 15 more minutes. I snuck a small piece already (one that I knew would be done). Delicious! Thanks for sharing! AND …. We will be dipping the cookie dough truffles for family night tonight. Can’t wait! (My kids and hubby already gave a thumbs up to the cookie dough part. I made the balls while they each licked a spoon.)

Once again-Love Love Love this recipe! I’ve made it for a few new mom’s after delivery and they go nuts over it. One thing I do that cuts down on prep a little is cutting the chicken into strips-that way there are less pieces to dip and brown. So yummy! I will love you forever for introducing me to this one

I found your blog not too long ago and have enjoyed it ever since. We just had this the other night and it was delicious! My kids loved it and when I sent it for my little kindergartner for lunch the following day when I went into volunteer in his class I had teachers asking me if I would send the recipe because it smelled so good. So thank you for this great recipe!

“Winner, Winner Chicken Dinner” says a very satisfied husband of mine. That recipe is so….well there aren’t any words that can explain. It’s that good! I made it last night for dinner and he said it was the best dinner he has ever had from my kitchen. And I’m not a bad cook, so that’s really saying something. I actually didn’t follow the recipe 100% cuz I really wanted to eat sooner than the recipe said. My variations: I cut the chicken into bite size pieces (no cutting w/ a fork required), I cooked it at 375 (so it would cook faster, for the sauce I added about 2/3 cup of pineapple juice mixed w/ 1-2 tbls of cornstarch (my mom has been making her own sweet & sour sauce for years, that’s were I got it). I can’t wait to actually try it the way you have it laid out. We were just way too hungry! Thanks again for all the wonderful recipes.Jennifer

Thanks for recipe – it is wonderful. Restaurant quality without all the oil. Have you fried the chicken earlier, refrigerator them until time to bake? I would like to use this as an appetizer but do some of the prep work before hand.

Anonymous – unfortunately, I’ve never made any of the steps ahead of time, so I can’t vouch for if it will work ok to do that. I’m a bit afraid of the chicken is fried earlier and refrigerated, it might get a little soggy, but I’m not sure. Let me know if you try it!

Just tried this the other night and it was sooo yummy! Husband and son loved it too. Very easy to make and with defiently make again. This is the 1st recipe i have made from your blog and i look so forward to making more, next up baked manicotti and vanilla pudding cinnamon buns.Thanks again!!

The Coopers – I hope you like the manicotti and cinnamon rolls. I’m really glad you liked this sweet and sour chicken. I’ve said it a million times, but it’s true – it is definitely one of our family’s favorites!

I saw this recipe on Pioneer Woman’s Tasty Kitchen blog and have made it several times and shared it with my sister too. My 3 yr old likes to help me prepare the chicken and he loves it too – it IS better than take out!!! Thanks for sharing 🙂

Very good recipe. I have twin 15 year old boys and a 13 year old daughter. They all loved it. In the middle of making it I just knew I would need more…..cut up an additional breast. Not a piece of chicken was left. So success. A couple of tips that might already be here somewhere. Please line your baking sheets with foil. It will save you so much time with all the baked sugar in the sauce. As opposed to pouring the sauce over the chicken on the baking sheet….dunk each piece with tongs in the sauce and then place on the sheet. One last tip……use two pair of tongs….one to coat in corn starch and move to egg and pan….a second to flip in pan.. A healthy tip to boot….use grapeseed oil to pan fry instead of canola oil…it is so much healthier for your family’s heart. 🙂 Thanks for the great recipe… Houston, Tx

Yummo! I made this dish tonight and my husband declared it his new favorite meal! I was wondering if you’ve ever tried simmering this meal in a skillet rather than baking it? My old sweet & sour recipe does this and it makes one less dish to wash, but I didn’t want to mess with this recipe if you’ve tried this method and it didn’t work out! Thanks for ANOTHER great recipe! -Melanie

Thank you, Thank you for this recipe!!! My 7yo daughter has always loved “sticky chicken” but I never had a recipe to make it for her at home. We tried this last night for the first time and it was a HUGE hit for my 3 kiddos and hubby!! Each of them had 2nds…and I learned that next time I just might get to make a double batch =)

Amy – thanks for commenting! I’m glad your friend of a friend of my Aunt Marilyn (at least that’s the aunt I’m guessing) passed on the blog. And I’m really glad you like this dish! Thanks for letting me know. By the way, here is a link to a fantastic broccoli beef recipe, if you are interested: http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/broccoli_beef/

I am hooked on your blog…if I am not mistaken I got your blog info from my friend who got it from a friend who is your aunt or something…anyway, there will NEVER be another reason to go out again for this dish…I made it twice within a week…we love it…now I just have to find a beef and broccoli recipe!

as you already know from my blog post, my husband and I both loved this recipe. It really does taste like it came from a restaurant! my mom is already planning on making it too. 🙂 next time I’m adding pineapple!

Not only is this recipe nice and simple, it is delicious too! My mother and I use this recipe and add pineapple slices, red & green bell peppers, and maraschino cherries into the baking dish before adding it to the oven. In fact, my boyfriend likes it so much, I have made it 2 years in a row on New Year’s Eve… tonight will make the 3rd year! Thanks so much for the great recipes!

You never seem to fail me. I had a craving for Orange Chicken tonight and couldn’t find any good recipe’s out there. Then it hit me – I remembered seeing one on your blog. So of course I printed it out and cant wait to try it tonight. My husband and son both love Orange Chicken. Looking forward to surprising them! I will let you know how it turns out!

I just found your blog a few weeks ago and have since made a bunch of meals from it. Delicious! I am making this tonight and it smells SO good right now cooking in the oven. I do have a question though…in the instructions it says to dip in cornstarch, then egg…is that how you do it, or is it egg then cornstarch? Either way I’m sure it will be divine, but the coating will be different. Thanks for this recipe and all the other ones you have posted!!

Anonymous – I get a lot of questions about the egg and cornstarch dipping order. I do it the way it is written in the recipe, even though it seems backwards, because I think it makes for a delightfully thin, crisp coating but I know others have switched the order and it has worked out just fine. Hope you liked the end result!

I made this last night. My entire family loved it! It took some coaxing to get my 3yo to try it but after he did, he wanted more. My only complaint is I wish I’d made more, there wasn’t a drop leftover!! Thanks for all the wonderful recipes you post on your blog:)

I just found your site and I have printed out a bunch of recipes to try! I love your site and your opinion of each recipe. I really don't like to try a new recipe unless I hear the results and know it's a good one. We had the sweet and sour chicken last night and oh my goodness…it was so so so good!! My husband LOVED it and said it was his new favorite and much better than any of those chinese places. He ate a ton of it! My girls loved it too and I loved it! It was a hit at my house! The sauce is so yummy and the chicken was perfect. Thanks for an awesome recipe! I can't wait to try your other ones!

I made this for dinner tonight. it was delicious!! husband, 3 1/2 year old boy, MIL, and I all loved it!! I served it over basmati rice, and on the side I made ‘chinese buffet green beans’ from allrecipes.com. sprinkled sesame seeds over everything. chicken was very tender.

We had this tonight and it was GREAT!!! The chicken was so tender and flavorful…much better than s&s chicken from the chinese restaurant. This is the 1st recipe that I have cooked from your site and I can’t wait to try more. I spent lots of time browsing your blog as I prepared our menu for the month. Lots of your recipes are written on my calendar. Thx so much!

I made this tonight, but I didn’t put it in the oven. I made the sauce and put it in a skillet on the stove top and boiled it with carrots and bell peppers until the sauce was thick and the veggies were tender. I used white rice, already cooked chicken (cubed) and then poured the sauce/veggies over the top. It was a huge hit. Thanks for all the great recipes. You are my number one stop when I’m trying to get some fresh ideas.

We’re trying this tonight. It’s in the oven right now. I was just wondering if there are any easier ways to coat the chicken besides piece by piece in the corn starch and then the egg. Has anyone every tried putting the cornstarch and chicken in a large zip lock baggie and shaking it around to coat it and then dipping it in egg? Just trying to save a little time and mess. Can’t wait to try it.

Hi Alicia – I’ve never tried the bag-and-shake method but it’s worth a try! In fact, I’m making it for a large dinner group in a few weeks and I may give that method a try. It definitely is one of the more time consuming meals I make but I hope you think the results are worth it!

Thanks for your quick response. I made your honey lime enchiladas tonight for the second time. Soooo Yummy. I picked up my 14 year old from school and she asked what was for dinner. She was so excited it was the enchiladas. Thanks again for sharing your great recipes.

ACK!! Everytime I stumble across another ‘must try’ recipe on your blog, I panic….what else am I missing!!? OH the stress!!!!!!

I am a HUGE fan of all chinese food Ah heck, who am a I kidding, I’m a huge fan of all things edible. I finally found an AMAZING recipe for ginger beef the other night, so I am soooo excited to be able to try this out and add it to my ‘chinese food’ recipes. (we have NO good chinese food restaurants in this entire city!) *sigh*

Thanks Mel, can NOT wait to try this out!!!!!! YUMMMMMY!!!! I know it will be awesome cuz thus far, every single recipe I’ve tried (what am I at now, 100?!!) {{lol}} has been nothing short of fabulous.

I cook for 5 adults and three kids daily, it is very rare to find something everyone likes. However I made this recipe tonight and all I heard was, “So when are you going to make that again?” Thanks for the recipe!!

Melanie, we loved loved loved this! I’ve had it on the “to make” list and finally did tonight. My hubby said it was better than take out, and I agree! I just can’t get enough of your recipes, because every single one has been beyond delicious! Thank you!

This was SO GOOD! I doubled the recipe, but cooked it in a 9×13 pan. I should have spread it out on a cookie sheet so it could have stayed a bit crispier, though. My husband said it was “the best sweet and sour chicken he’s ever had”.

I was just wondering if the coating is supposed to be crispy after baking. I made it exactly as written, and it was fabulous. However, the coating came out soft, so I was wondering if I did something wrong. I baked it in a 13 x 9-inch Pyrex dish. Maybe if I’d used a different kind of pan?

Veronica – I would say the coating doesn’t stay overly crisp. When I make it, the chicken and coating soaks up some of the sauce and the coating softens a bit. it shouldn’t be soggy, by any means, but it definitely isn’t crunchy and crispy. I use a glass 9X13-inch pyrex dish, too. One way to combat this would be to bake the chicken without the sauce and thicken the sauce on the stove and pour the sauce over the chicken while serving it. The chicken probably won’t be as flavorful with the sauce flavor but it would keep the coating a bit less soft (or you could just fry the chicken until completely cooked through in the first step and serve it alongside the sauce).

oh my goodness, these were so good! i was so proud of myself for making something that tasted like food from the chinese restuarant! i just don’t think i really expected these to turn out so fabulous but they sure did! thanks for the wonderful recipe!

I heard about this recipe the other day and had to make it that night! This was great!! I loved the sauce cooked down on the stove, so similar to the take-out sauce. I added some bell peppers, pineapples and onion to ours the last 20 minutes of baking. Mr. loved it, so it’s a keeper and is being shared (and linked back) on my blog. =)

This was wonderful! I decided to make it, but I was somewhat skeptical because I’ve made it before and it really wasn’t that good. But YOUR recipe is just so delicious. I had my husband run by and picked up the fried rice from the restaurant. My kids said this chicken was far better than the takeout we normally get. I think the cornstarch instead of flour makes a big difference. Also…the sauce is great.

I might have already commented on this to say it’s one of the best recipes I’ve seen in years. But I wanted to add that I use half the amount of sugar the recipe calls for with delicious results. Just in case anyone was wondering about using less sugar.

[…] at Google, and found this recipe at Taste and Tell. [edit: apparently this recipe orignated at My Kitchen Cafe] Since I’ve been cooking regularly for all of, say, nine months, this seemed like a […]

I’ve had this recipe bookmarked for some time now and I finally made it last week. Oh. My. Goodness. WOW! So much better than take out. It’s great because I already had everything on hand! Love your site! Thanks for a fantastic recipe!

So…. i’m making a variation of this recipe as I type (only has 1 15-minute turn left!) and it looks just AMAZING! I made a few changes for calorie counts (less oil, splenda instead of sugar, less cornstarch and only an egg) – but it STILL looks amazing! Can’t wait to try it – thank you for sharing so many great recipes! Every one of yours i’ve tried has been awesome! (we had your chili for dinner last night…. wow!)

Melanie–Thanks for sharing a great recipe! I made this for dinner last night and it was VERY well received. My 10 year old who isn’t usually much of a meat-eater was super excited to try this and took a large serving. We all really enjoyed it and I’m sure that we’ll be having it again soon. I wonder, have you make it with boneless skineless thighs before? Do you use breasts exclusively because they’re more lean? I was thinking about it when I fished my bag of breasts out of the freezer and had to move the thighs aside to get to it, so I thought I’d ask!

Renee – I’m happy you liked this! I’ve never used chicken thighs before but imagine they would work great. I like the leaner chicken breast but if you have chicken thighs waiting to be used, I bet they would work just fine!

hayley – I’m so bummed you didn’t love this recipe! You know, it does have a pretty strong vinegar taste so chances are you DID make it right but might not prefer the strong vinegar taste. I know that when I make it and open the oven to stir every 15 minutes, I’m assaulted by a wave of burning vinegar but after the hour of baking it simmers down to silky, sweet and sour perfection. I’m sorry you didn’t love it!

When tonight’s dinner arrangements fell through last minute, I was scrambling to figure out what to make with what I had on hand. I have had this recipe bookmarked for a long time, because I love sweet and sour, however, my husband does not. He recently tried some of mine at a Chinese restaurant, though, and said it was okay. I decided tonight was the night and if he didn’t like it , he could have peanut butter and jelly.

As we were eating, he asked me what I thought. I said, “It’s pretty darn good!” He said, “Yeah, this needs to be put on the menu.” That confused my 6 year old who thought we were going to have the Chinese restaurant put it on their menu. My husband proceeded to tell me several more times how good it was. Thank you for this recipe!

I’ll share how I adapted the recipe slightly. I ran out of vinegar, so I made up the rest with pineapple juice. Then just before the chicken was done, I stir-fried some green and red peppers and carrots. When they were crisp-tender, I threw in some pineapple chunks and a bit of sauce and cooked another minute or so. Then I tossed the veggies with the chicken before serving. No need for any side dishes. It was fabulous!

Tiffany – great comment! Thanks for checking in on this recipe. I’m glad that your husband revised his sweet-and-sour thinking and liked this version! That’s quite a compliment to you and I love your variations. Thank you!

Wow. This is the second recipe I’ve made from your “The Best Recipe” list. My family scarfed this down. This was so delicious and easy and I had all the ingredients! It’s super easy. Thanks for a champion recipe and I look forward to trying more of your recipes.

Ok, this was absolutely perfect! My 12 year old, who says he hates chicken AND chinese food had thirds! Seriously wonderful. My husband said it reminded him of a restaurant he use to go to as a child. Thanks again…fabulous recipe!

[…] Ok…this was pretty dang good. Ernie said it’s a keeper so I’m putting in on here. The only downfall is it is a little time consuming (about 1 hr) so be aware when you make this. I wasn’t quite aware so my little guy had a sandwich for dinner instead of eating because he was too hungry. It was well worth the wait. Here’s the link to where I got it. Funny it’s called Melskitchencafe. […]

My family teases me about all of the “blog food” meals I’ve been making lately. There have been quite a few lackluster meals. So, it was with low expectations that my family sat down to dinner. Everyone enjoyed it! I doubled the sauce and may experiment with adding a bit more soy or maybe hoisin sauce. Thanks for a great simple recipe I could make with ingredients already onhand.

I decided to give my parents the night off last night and cook dinner for them, and thought this would be the perfect meal. Boy was I right, we all loved it! Even my siblings, and they are some picky eaters! I’m absolutely addicted to your wonderful website and my family seems to be pretty happy I found it too 🙂

I made this last night and it was a definite hit! My husband, who doesn’t really like chicken, LOVED it! We will definitely be having this again and again! I also made your garlic knots for valentines day and they quickly became my “go-to” for rolls!!!!! Thanks! Love your website!

I was referred to you by a friend and this is the first recipe of yours I’ve tried. After my family and I scarfed the entire pan of chicken down, I went straight to all my contacts and referred them here as well. You just got a whole new legion of fans. And it’s well deserved! I bow to you 🙂

I made this Friday. My four-year-old loved it. I added green bell pepper which was great. I doubled the sauce but would not next time. The sauce is very powerful and a little goes a long way. We don’t eat much fried food but this was good for a change. I liked knowing what was going into our Chinese food. I will make this again but play around with the sauce a little my husband and I both thought it wasn’t quite. I little too ketchupy or something. It did look just like the real thing. 🙂

I tried this for dinner the other night. I have celiac and was SO excited to find a gluten free recipe for one of my favorite foods! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! It was SO yummy and my hubby loved it, said it was the best sweet and sour chicken he has ever had. I’ll have to agree. I’m excited to make this recipe again and again and again! Next time though, I’m going to double the recipe for the sauce =) SO YUMMY!

I found this on tastespotting and let me tell you, it was amazing! I was concerned it was going to be too vinegary because it smelled liked vinegar when it was cooking, but it was not at all. The only thing I might do differently next time is perhaps use less sugar, as it was possibly just a touch too sweet. Maybe 1/2 cup sugar? I don’t want to mess with it too much though because it really was great.

This is a great recipe; I saute red peppers and onions in the oil after the chicken is cooked and just then pour the sauce in, then add the chicken back into the skillet; you don’t even need to bake the whole thing in the oven for it to be yummy.

I love this recipe. I think I’ve made it at least every other week since I discovered it. I’ve also made the sauce separately and served it with egg rolls and cream cheese wontons (and deep fried chicken of course). That turned out excellent as well. Thanks for such a great recipe!!

I made this today when I all had written on my menu was “chicken”. I am SO glad I did! This was amazing!!!! I have to save some for my hubby who is working late tonight and I don’t want to! LOL
Thanks for a keeper of a recipe!!!!

Once again, a winner of a recipe from Melskitchencafe! I am 3 for 3 for this site, and I highly doubt if I’ll ever bother with any other recipe sites. Fairly simple, well-directed, and without processed food – what more can you ask for?

My husband, who hates everything I cook, came in the door tonight and made a *gross* face and said “what are you cooking?” (I think he smelled the vinegar, which I admit even made my eyes tear up a little when I’d open the oven to turn the chicken). Once it was on the plate, however, he proceeded to eat the entire baking dish of chicken. This will be an often requested recipe, I’m sure. Thank you, Mel!!!!

Lets be fair you dont exactly need me to comment and sing this recipes praises as i think thats been proven already! But made this tonight and it was utterly wonderful, was worried about the vinegar smell that caused me to have a mini sneezing fit (if anyone else experiences this and is worried, have no fear! its fine!), but all turned out fabulously and im ashamed to admit it was devoured between just the 2 of us

The hubby and I LOVE LOVE LOVE this recipe! We make it about every other week…is that too often? =) Anyway, we love it so much we decided we would try and make it in the dutch ovens while camping. We doubled the recipe and add pineapple (with a little juice) and green peppers. The results: AWESOME! The only bad part was everyone loved it SOOOO much there wasn’t any left for seconds, everyone was disappointed =) Guess we’ll have to quadriple it next time! Such an AWESOME recipe!

This is truly the best sweet and sour chicken. My husband and kids immediately requested it be added to our regulars. I ended up making 3 more of your recipes last week: the Indian Butter Chicken, Kicked Up Ramen – Kung Pao style and the Tuscan Garlic Chicken. I am officially a fan! Tonight Bourbon Chicken.

We LOVED this chicken! After big disasters in the past with making chinese food I had given up – but I gave it one last try and I’m so glad I did. It was so good! (but so is everything else I’ve tried off of this blog 🙂 ) Do you think this could be turned into a freezer meal?

Well, I made this recipe tonight and I will never, ever make any other kind except this one! It was absolutely delicious! The sauce was perfect and the chicken was tender, tender, tender! Any time I’ve had sweet and sour chicken in a restaurant, the batter on the chicken pieces was way, way too much. This batter was simple and I was so surprised that using cornstarch and dipping the pieces in the egg would result in the perfect blend of coating. My family loved the dinner and this recipe is one I will make many times over.
I made the sauce separately and poured some over the hot chicken when it came out of the oven. I did it that way since I made quite a bit of chicken pieces and when I reheat the leftovers, the chicken will still hold the coating being on the crispy side. Either way, it doesn’t matter………the recipe sure is a winner for me! Thank you so much for sharing this with us, dear Melanie!

My husband LOVED this dish! We are really picky about our Chinese food and I was surprised when he said to me, “I like this better than any take out we’ve ever had. We need to have this again, and soon!” Thanks so much for sharing! I love this site!

[…] me to do meatballs instead! I used my favorite sweet and sour sauce (thanks for the killer recipe Melanie!) and added a bit of an Asian twist to the meatballs. The end result was so delicious, I cleared my […]

OMG I made the sweet and sour chicken last night after following the link on the oven-baked ribs recipe. HANDS DOWN THE BEST S/S CHICKEN I HAVE EVER HAD! I can’t believe I made it at home in my own kitchen. Usually I prefer oriental food from my a Chinese restaurant. BUT NO MORE. Love your site. Thanks again!

I made this last night. Why had I not made it until now? Possibly because I’m not the biggest fan of Chinese and more particularly, sweet and sour. It was awesome! I was so excited about leftovers, but my hopes and dreams were…devoured. By my one-year-old. No joke. We loved it and we’ll be eating it often!

So I know I have already commented, but we made this again and WOW – We love it every time! I have started serving it with stir fried onions and green peppers and it totally takes it to a new level. So yummy! 🙂

I made this last night. It was so good. I’ve never actually eating Sweet and Sour Chicken before, so I didn’t have a point of reference, but my husband and I really liked it. It was super easy and delicious!

Thank you for the fantastic sweet and sour chicken recipe. It was delicious, but something went wrong as my chicken wasn’t crispy. I’m not sure where I went wrong, but I think it was because I made extra sauce and added it all to the chicken dish prior to baking instead of cooking the extra sauce on top of the stove as you suggested. Could this be why it didn’t turn out crispy?

Sue – I’ve done the same thing before – doubled the sauce and poured it all on top of the chicken and had the same results. The breading on the chicken baked up fairly soggy, so yes, I think that probably caused the issue. I usually keep some sauce on the stove to thicken and heat while the batch of chicken cooks.

This was great! Although not even a tiny piece of the batter stuck to my chicken. I did it just as the recipe said and it all fell off immediately when I put it in the frying pan. Any suggestions? Still tasted good, just didn’t have the crunchy outside I was hoping for:)

Jamie – that’s strange that all the coating fell off! Bummer! Was your chicken all the way thawed? I’ve had the coating slip off if I am using slightly frozen chicken pieces. I hope you have better luck if you try it another time!

Soooo yummy! This last time I made it I only had drumsticks so I figured why not? I followed the directions just like for the other pieces and then adjusted the cooking time to 350 degrees for 45 minutes turning every 15 minutes to get saturated! Oh, and I doubled the sauce so that I could add some more…the kids loved it and we served it next to rice! Thanks Mel! 🙂

Man oh man is this a good recipe!! My husband agreed that it is better than a restaurant, especially because the meat isn’t hiding in a bunch of breading. Leftovers are great re-heated also, unlike take-out. He said “adding sliced green onion made it over-the-top!” so I recommend adding some next time 🙂 thanks once again for an awesome recipe!!

Just made this for the first time tonight, and it was a big hit! We all loved it, even my 2yr old daughter loved it. Will definitely be a keeper for our family night dinners. Very easy to make also. Delish!

WOW! This dish was fantastic! I used rice wine vinegar & tripled the sauce (we like sauce)! I served it over brown rice with an asian veggie mix. The whole family loved it and I will be making this frequently. My husband said it was better than any takeout he’s ever had! Thank you for an awesome recipe!

LOVE this recipe! i know this is a fairly old post so i’m not sure if you will see this comment, but is there any advice you can give me on frying the chicken? when i let the oil get pretty hot, the oil starts popping up everywhere, but if i turn the temperature down, it takes FOREVER to brown :/ still tastes great, but takes forever

Mandy – hmmm, it sounds to me perhaps the heat just needs to be more at a middle ground – in between where it is popping and where it takes forever to brown. I keep mine at right around medium heat (once it has become nice and hot). Each stove is different with heat – good luck if you make it next time!

This is so yummy! I love sweet & sour chicken-but I always bought it from the chinese restaurant. When I lost my job & was limited on cash, I found this..& it is sooo much better than the deep fried s&s chicken from the restaurant! Making it right now 🙂

Made this last night and I have to give you a GIANT thank you! My nephew who never eats probably ate more than anyone! So YUM! I added a red bell pepper and some onion and served with fried rice. I overheard my nephew telling my sister that he was going to ask for that for the family birthday dinner. Ha Ha! That is grandma’s tradition too. I guess I will have to give my mom the recipe or make it for everyone. We might have to work on that together though as we would probably have to 4x the recipe. Whoa nelly!

I’m 15 and just starting to experiment with food. I came to your site through Pinterest (which I recently discovered) and I have been so eager to try your recipes since. The chicken is in the oven now.. I really hope they turn out well so my mom will continue to let me cook!!

So the chicken is still baking in the oven (3 minutes left) and as I am the type of person to “taste test”, i couldn’t resist! It was so good!! My only problem was that it smelled too strongly like vinegar.. Could it be because I used rice vinegar?? Anyway, it was FANTASTIC!! Thank you so much for sharing!!

I tried this using pork (a picnic roast cut into cubes) yesterday. I had been wanting to try this, but for some reason I was thinking it was supposed to use the pork not chicken. I thawed my pork and then pulled the recipe out and it was for chicken. I went ahead with the pork and it was FABULOUS!!! My husband and 3 kids (who have been in a picky eating mood lately) raved about it. I followed the directions except substituted pork for the chicken. 🙂 I also added some stir fried peppers and onions to it at the end (but that is just a matter of personal taste). So, for all of you wondering if this would work with pork. . . .YES!!!

First of all I love your blog!! This is one of many I have made (I am actually making 2 more recipes from your site this week (Italian Beef Sandwiches & Ham/Pasta Skillet) Just wanted to tell you this was awesome!! Kids loved it too! I had some trouble with the egg and cornstarch think I was doing it too quickly after work but needless to say this is a repeat in my book! Thanks again and keep those great recipes coming!!

Mel, I know you are sick of hearing from me, but this chicken rocks! Thank you! It reminded me of my favorite chicken from Pei Wei. I wondered if you could give me a suggestion for a filling, not too complicated meal for a family of 8 adults and 5 kids. I’m taking food to a grieving family this weekend and can’t decide what to make. Just wondered what you would prepare for them in that sitation. Thanks again for the delicious recipes!

AMAZING. I just made these and they are sitting on the table on top of a bed of freshly made fried rice waiting for my fiance to come home (as you can see by the date, today is Valentine’s Day, so I wanted to make something special). The sauce is awesome, but EXTREMELY sticky when baked (just the way I like it). So I would recommend using a strong parchment paper to line the baking pan when you stick these puppies in the oven. I couldn’t even imagine having to try to clean a pan with the mess I just saw. It was really easy to just remove the chicken and throw the paper away. I followed the directions exactly, except in the sauce I used garlic powder and not garlic salt. I’m not sure if there is a difference, but it tastes just fine. And I baked them for 45 minutes at 350, only rotating them twice and they were just fine. I keep sneaking up to the dining room table and popping a piece into my mouth as I’m writing this review. Great recipe! I know my junk-food-loving fiance will love this, and I love knowing there isn’t strange cat meat in it (there are some pretty sketchy Chinese restaurants in Rhode Island) !

Mel, we made your sweet and sour chicken tonight and it was OUTSTANDING! My 13 year old son with a bottomless stomach said it was “better than a Chinese restaurant!” I have you saved as my favorite go-to now for our recipes 🙂 Thank you for sharing!

Incredible recipe. I’ve never liked homemade sweet and sour chicken, Friday I had a girl’s night and wanted Chinese food so I tried this recipe out and it was PHENOMENAL!!! All your recipes are. I just love you, you make my eating life so happy!!!

Had this for dinner tonight – it was a hit!! While I was making it I thought it would be really yummy to add some red pepper flakes to the sauce – give the chicken a bit of heat. Thanks for the delicious and easy recipe!

[…] adapted this recipe from my Mom’s friend, Dianne and combined it with a similar recipe from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe. It was delicious, even my kids loved it! This is BY FAR the best homemade sweet and sour chicken […]

[…] at home. I searched around and sifted through at least a dozen recipes, and settled on one from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe after she declared it her family’s favorite recipe. Of course I changed it up just a smidge, […]

I was wondering…what kind of Vinegar did you use? I’ve heard for the most part if it’s not stated, white vinegar is used. I just wanted to make sure to use the right one and go with what you used. Excited to try it! Thanks

As a time saver, I put the cornstarch in a gallon-size ziploc bag, and then put all the chicken pieces in and shook until coated. I shook off the excess cornstarch and put the chicken into a large mixing bowl with the beaten egg and tossed until coated. Great recipe!

My kids and husband fought and bartered who got to take the leftovers in their lunch the next day! So good. It took awhile to make. I’m a novice at frying foods – any tips on not splattering oil on myself. Is there a best kind of pan to use? Thanks!

I was introduced to your blog by a friend, since then I have tried 6 recipes from your blog for the past week and they all turned out superbly that I’m adding them to my rotations. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! =) You’ve made it a lot easier for me to cook healthy and delicious meals for my family that are easy to prepare. Now I don’t have to scramble my brains thinking of what to cook for dinner. I just make your blog my go-to and voila! I have a delicious dinner for my family. Thank you Melanie! =)

My kids love this! They said it was like chicken nuggets but WAY better because its made by mom (therefore healthier). They are even asking when they can have this again. I’ve made this twice in the last two weeks =) I love that the sauce sticks to the chicken. I just cut back a bit on the vinegar because hubby is not a fan of it, but just a little bit though. Thanks for this yummy recipe! =)

Oh my goodness this was good! I made this for my family tonight and we just loved it. My husband doesn’t even like sweet and sour chicken and he went back for seconds and then thirds! Thank you so much for this recipe. We will definitely be making this again.

[…] The recipe is on a blog called “Life as a Lofthouse” and that person originally found it on “Mel’s Kitchen Café.” I added a few things that I think really take it to the next level – after all, I had to make […]

Made this tonight with some modifications to lighten it and it still came out delicious. I used less than 1/2 a cup of cornstarch (I had 3 oz in the bag but only 2 landed on the chicken). I used egg beaters instead of eggs. And no oil – just sprayed the pan with canola oil cooking spray. I halved the specified amount of sugar. Altogether, it looks like 1230 calories for the complete recipe – so about 300 each if it’s four servings. Not bad!

REALLY went in with lowered expectations, thinking that all the rave reviews COULDN’T be accurate. This is WONDERFUL! Used chicken thighs and added half a small can of pineapple after cooking (because that’s what I had in the pantry) and this was just AMAZING! Thank you so much!

Just had to add that we LOVE this chicken! I have a VERY picky eater and he hardly eats anything. Because of this, I’ve started adding 1/4 c of pureed sweet potatoes or carrots or even butternut squash to the sauce (sometimes 1/4 c of 2 of them!) just to up the veggies. Could you do this without the coating on the chicken or is it the cornstarch that helps it thicken up as it cooks? We’re just watching calories and I never can get the crispy outside so I just figured maybe it could be done without it! Maybe I’ll try that tonight since that’s what we’re having for dinner tonight! Thanks again for a fabulous recipe!

I absolutely love you for posting this.
This is now a weekly dish we make in my house! Everyone is obsessed with it, & it is 10x better than Chinese Take-out! Since it’s baked, it doesn’t leave that icky feeling in your tummy when you’re done stuffing your face.

The sauce for me had a little more of a vinegar bite than I would have liked and it lost its Asian roots. To compensate I added a touch more (1 to 2 tsp.) soy sauce and ketchup, about 1/4 tsp sesame oil, and about 1 tsp honey and it really toned down the acidity and woke this sauce up!!

Tried this this weekend and it is every bit as good as all your loyal followers said. Only because of health issues, I cut the sugar down in the sauce, using a total of 1/4 cup regular sugar and 1/4 cup Splenda. It turned out great. After the first bite my husband said, “This is a keeper!” Thank you for sharing this easy and wonderful recipe.

This was SOOOOO good!!! If it wasn’t for all the carbs from the cornstarch and sugar, I’d add it to our regular rotation. 😉 As is though, it will be on our “occasional splurge” rotation! Yumm! (P.S. The 3 year old asked for THIRDS!)

I just tried this, and it turned out surprisingly delicious! I tweaked the sauce just a bit by adding a dash of honey and an extra pinch of sugar to tone down the vinegar and soy sauce. I also bumped the temp up to 350 for the last 15 minutes just to make sure it cooked all the way. Thanks for the awesome recipe!

I made this the other night for my family . My brother and sister usually are very & hate ketchup they didnt even want to try it at first because of the vinegar and ketchup in the sauce . I didnt follow the recipe completely i coated the chicken in egg first then cornstarch and cooked it then we dipped the chicken in the sauce and ate it just like that with garlic broccoli and rice . It was so good my sister and brother loved it my mom and grandma too it was a big hit definitely going to be making it again when were not completely starving so I can bake it in the oven .

I am in love! I make this about once/week, and I can’t wait to make it tonight! This is one of our favorite meals. I made a few additions to the sauce (although it’s also great as is!) — I like to add 3 cloves of chopped garlic, 3 thin sliced green onions, and 1 Tbs of grated ginger. It is so amazing. I also mix pineapple, pea pods and carrots in with my cooked rice! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

I stumbled upon your website via Pinterest. The photos of your food drew me to your actual site. So far, we’ve made 3 of your recipes.. The Sweet & Sour Chicken, Honey Glazed Chicken and The Best Fajitas. I have a fairly finicky group but they all gobbled these up and definitely will be made again.

This dish was amazing!! The sauce really did taste like take out sweet and sour chicken and thankfully I couldnt tell there was ketchup in the sauce!

One quick question, is the amount of sauce given in the recipe supposed to be for a 9×13 pan? I made less chicken but not exactly halved so I made the full amount of sauce and put it in an 8×8 pan and after just 40min the chicken was done but there was still a lot of liquid in the pan. I drained the chicken before putting on top of rice and it tasted wonderfully but I wondered if the sauce was supposed to be thickened throughout the pan instead of soupy.

A couple things I found about this recipe…. I completely agree with a lot of the other posts, 1/2 c of vinegar seemed way too much so I only used 1/4 cup instead. But when I left mine in the oven and set the timer for an hour, i came back to check around the 40 minute mark and the sauce was SO sticky and gooey I had to take it out of the oven. What do you think happened? It still tasted really good but the sauce was almost burned…if I had left it in another 10 minutes I think it would have been ruined. Do you think I should cut down on the oven time next time??

Kristin – well, to be perfectly honest, I think you needed the extra 1/2 cup vinegar. To cut out 1/2 cup of liquid from the sauce will definitely make a huge impact on how quickly the liquid cooks down in the sauce so it doesn’t surprise me that after 40 minutes your sauce was too sticky. If you follow the recipe as written, you’ll be able to bake it the full amount of time without burning. Even though 1/2 cup vinegar seems like a lot, it works in this recipe. There is a definite tangy, vinegar smell as it’s baking and that may scare people, but hundreds of others have loved it that way. I’d encourage you to try it with 1/2 cup vinegar, otherwise you’ll have to play around with baking times since I’ve never made it with 1/4 cup.

OK, so I am not the only person who just made this. Since our “Empty nest” became full again (at least for supper), I have been cooking much more. I found a similar recipe on Pinterest and googled it and then found yours – yours seemed more complete in the instructions. I used 4 good sized breasts and your portions on the sauce.
Our 4 year old grand daughter ate some nuggets without sauce, and the rest of the crew including my daughter and niece ate almost every piece I had. I confess I finished the three pieces left. Best chicken in a while – guess I need to check your blog for more recipes. Tonight is Ed’s Chili in the crockpot from “Fixit and Forget It”. Thanks for a great and easy recipe, we will make it many times over.

My whole family loves this meal. After one bite my husband was giving this two thumbs up and please make again soon comments! Thank you for all of the great recipes!! You make finding what to make for dinner easy. I know I can’t go wrong on this website.

Make this regularly and get high praise from everyone! Even handed the recipe out to my dad – who LOVES it. Thanks for your website, i use it frequently to make all my dinners/sweets etc as i am new to cooking! 🙂

This looks super yummy and I hope to make it this week. I plan on adding some fresh pineapple chunks to mine in the last 20 minutes or so of baking. My mouth is watering just thinking about it!! Can’t wait!

Tried it again, this time with the full amount of vinegar…much better! It still got REALLY sticky at the end….and I put my timer on 50 minutes instead of an hour…glad I did, because I definitely took it out at 50 minutes! Any longer it would have probably burned my sauce….so I’m thinking my oven may be getting hotter than its supposed to 🙂 Next time I’ll just do 45 minutes and I’m sure it will be PERFECT~ Thanks for the recipe 🙂

I made this dish last night and it was a HUGE hit! We LOVED it! I would highly recommend making this dish as a weekly meal! It was so delicious! Thanks for sharing this on Pinterest! I’m soooooo glad I found it!

Oh my gosh! This is gluten-free!! (well, if you get the gluten-free soy sauce, which I happen to have!) I absolutely love sweet and sour chicken but my husband and I are gluten-free so we can’t have the coated chicken. I am so excited to have found your site and this recipe! I have most ingredients on hand right now so will definitely be making this for him tonight! Thank you so much 🙂

I had never made sweet and sour chicken and was not sure if this would taste good with ketchup and vinegar BUT I can honestly say I was very surprised and it was great, thanks for posting it I will defiantly make this recipe again.

Thinking about making this tomorrow (it has the perfect combo of ingredients – I have EVERYTHING in my pantry already – yay! hate it when a recipe calls for some very specific thing that only goes with a handful of dishes). But I have 1 question – isn’t 1 hour a little long, given that pieces are rather small and have already been cooked some? I know 3-4 breasts is a lot of chicken, and if they were a whole piece, I’d definitely cook them an hour, but with this method, I’d expect it to me closer to 30 min. It’s not going to dry out?

Nathalie – the one hour helps reduce and thicken the sauce, otherwise the sauce is too thin and vinegary. My chicken has never been dry because of the 1 hour baking time – I think all the other ingredients help keep it moist.

[…] had! It's not complicated at all but it does take a little time. Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken- http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2008/…n-updated.html You must make it to believe! Duct tape is like the force, It has a light side, a dark […]

This recipe looks amazing and I have been wanting to try it – even purchased the apple cider vinegar. After coating the chicken in cornstarch and dipping into the egg mixture, do you then dip it into bread crumbs or panko before frying?!

This is my families favorite dinner. My kids, and husband, devour it every time! I made it for company once and I received the best compliment EVER while he was stuffing his face, “man, this is good! Where did you buy it from?” Thanks for sharing and teaching me how to make the best homemade sweet and sour chicken! Love ALL your recipes!

Tried this today & it was absolutely delicious! Literally the best home-made sweet & sour sauce I’ve ever had! I added about half a tablespoon of pure honey & used a little less than required on the vinegar, & it made it just a little on the sweeter side. It’s just so delicious, I’m beside myself about it!

I’ve tried this recipe 3x’s now, and I really love it…but I keep overcooking it. I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong? I cook the chicken in the skillet for just a few minutes…long enough for it to get crispy. Then I cook it at 325* for an hour (flipping halfway)….my oven does sometimes cook a little fast, but I usually only have to take it out about 5 minutes earlier than directed. How long do you think the chicken should stay in the overn at 325* before its cooked inside? I’m wondering if I can try it again and take it out at 30-40 minutes instead…but want to be sure the chicken is fully cooked (also- would that make the sauce less thick)? Any help would be so appreciated! I love this recipe but want to perfect it 🙂

Hi Kristin – Jnl2211 is exactly right (thanks!). The chicken should just be barely cooked in the skillet. What you are going for is a golden brown coating but not fully cooked chicken or you will have dry chicken at the end of baking. Many people are afraid to crank up the heat but you need really hot oil to brown those chicken pieces quickly. I like the whole hour of cooking because it thickens the sauce perfectly but if you are still having issues, you could cut the baking time down, it will just result in a thinner sauce that doesn’t coat the chicken quite as well. Good luck!

Il now Mel’s super busy and may not get to this right away so I thought I’d put my 2 cents. Regarding how long it takes for the chicken to be done, if you’re cooking the chicken pieces (about inch sized pieces) until they’re crispy, they’re probably pretty much done right then. Cooking the chicken in the oven is allowing the that little bit to get cooked through plus help the sauce thicken and adhere to the pieces. Also, Make sure your skillet when browning the pieces is high enough so that the outside just browns and doesn’t cook the chicken too much in just a few seconds (about 10-15 seconds). And don’t worry about not getting the chicken cooked through, it takes just a few minutes to cook bite size pieces of chicken breast. Just watch your sauce and how its reducing. Another thing to try would be using boneless, skinless chicken thighs as they are more forgiving In terms of tenderness. Hope your next batch turns out! Keep trying, it’s so worth it.

I made this for the first time last night, with mixed reviews. While I love how the chicken cooks up with the cornstarch/egg combo, the house just reeked of vinegar as it cooked, which was very unappealing to all. Fortunately most of us still liked the meal, but I think next time I’ll have to tweak the sauce a bit…perhaps less vinegar and a bit more soy sauce? But, I can say that my chicken looked just like your picture, which for some reason is very exciting when trying a new recipe! 🙂
Thanks!

Made this tonight (kids are eating while I type this). It is very quiet so that is a great sign! I served it with left over baked brown rice and it is very good! I am thinking of a couple of variations for future use. Thank you!

I finally caved and made this recipe this weekend and oh my goodness, it was amazing!!!! Better than any take out I have ever had. It is definitely a meal that I only have time to cook on the weekend because it is pretty time consuming, but it is worth every single grease splatter!! We loved it and I will keep this recipe near and dear to my heart forever! Can’t wait to pass this down to my daughter some day when she is old enough to cook. Thank you for another great recipe Mel. I LOVE your blog and make at least 2 recipes a week from it!

I made this for dinner tonight and my seven yr old told me it was so good it made his heart stop beating! This was so yummy and so easy … didn’t even require a trip to the store. Thank you for all of your great recipes – my family thinks I am a great cook thanks to you!

WOW!!! I have to say I was a little worried if my family would like this, BUT OMG!!! We loved it!! I have tried to make food taste like take out for years and this is BY far the BEST ever!!! Thank you so much for sharing this!!! The Leftovers are amazing too!! Yummy!!!

Yikes! Mine didn’t turn out and I followed the recipe exactly. It ended up exactly how reviewer: Michelle said with the whole house smelling like vinegar, the chicken tasting like vinegar. The sauce had the consistency of a pool of water even after an hour in the oven. I used the apple cider vinegar kind too. I wish I had more luck with it!

I just made this for lunch using chicken thighs and your Baked Brown Rice! I loved it and I will making it again for sure. I have been ill for six years with undiagnosed B12 Deficiency and fatigue kept me from cooking homemade meals so I lived off take-out, frozen and prepared foods. For the last six weeks I have felt like a human again and look forward to finding recipes and preparing healthy, tasty food so I am really glad to have found your blog. I made your Homemade Spaghetti Sauce last week and my friends and I loved it! I am looking forward to trying lots more of your recipes 🙂

OH MY GOODNESS. I’m dubious at best with recipes involving anything that’s supposed to be magically crispy while deliciously saucy and moist, especially when it involves food that are my favorites. So I procrastinated making this until I finally bit the bullet and cooked it all up for dinner. And good grief! It was AMAZING. It tasted like our favorite sweet and sour chicken (but BETTER) and, it was already gluten free so everyone in our family could enjoy it! (my youngest brother, Samuel, has CD) We could not believe how good it was. Seriously. I made a double batch for eight of us and we ate it all up…because it was JUST THAT DELICIOUS. This is going into our favorite recipes — in fact, the littles have all requested it as a weekly Monday night dinner! I told them maybe every other week, otherwise I run the risk of eating it all myself. Hee hee. Fabulous fabulous recipe! Thank you oh-so much!

From a never-doubting-the-tastiness-of-homemade-sweet-and-sour-chicken-again-new-reader —

I don’t know how I managed to come to your site but I am SO glad that I did. We did the sweet and sour chicken last night for dinner. It was the MOST delicious I’ve ever had. I really loved that all the ingredients were staples I had in the house. The hubby enjoyed it as well, he had 3 servings! Thanks so much! P.S.- I am trying out your mini meat loafs tonight!

I just had to write a comment! I’ve made a handful of your recipe’s (just discovered your page about a month ago), and I’m amazed! This recipe is so delicious, there are almost no words. As I was making it, I couldn’t help but think..’this is going to be one of those pinterest fails’. But when I took my first bite… Woah! Needless to say, this is going into my routine recipe box! I’m thinking… six days a week? 🙂 keep up the delicious posts!

I have literally made this like 3 times in the span of 2 weeks. I try to make it for anybody & everybody who will eat it lol…and who wouldn’t want to eat this deliciousness?!
Just an idea that makes the coating of the chicken easier. I just put the egg in with the cornstarch and chicken and it makes it go by way faster!! Plus, it coats the whole thing!

I made this last night and it was a hit. I didn’t make any extra sauce, but I should have, because everybody wanted extra. I didn’t change a thing in the recipe. This is destined to become a family favorite.

Loved this!!!!!!!!! Ive made it twice now and its a huge hit at home – I do a separate batch of sauce and add a bunch of veggies (snap peas, peppers, carrots, broccoli) in another pan (usually 8×8) and the sauce stays thinner (no cornstarch) but it makes a great pour over for the rice. The 2nd time I did this I think I did overcook the chicken while “frying” so Ive made a mental note on that but this is truly some of the best chicken ever. I find it a bit time consuming though so I only cook this on the weekends.

I have never commented on anything before. But I tried this recipe yesterday and fell absolutely in love with it. At first I was a bit apprehensive to make this because I had never made a dish with an Asian twist.

I have to say, ABSOLUTELY LOVE!!! It was sooo easy to make. I didn’t have cornmeal therefore I substituted for flour. Next time, I think I will add a squeeze for orange juice to it and throw in some green onions last minute.

I recommend this for anyone! So simple to make and the flavor explodes in your mouth! I made it with steamed white rice, veggie stir fry and this chicken. Keeper for sure.

Hi Mel! I stumbled across your blog from Pinterest a couple of days ago, and fell in food lust immediately with your recipes! I had a couple of friends visit for a casual dinner last night, and decided to make your Best Sweet and Sour Chicken recipe – can I just say, what a hit! According to my friend after one bite; “This is the ‘sugar-honeyed-iced-tea!'” My housemate also said he would be happy to pay my rent if I just made this recipe every night. Unfortunately I could not find apple cider vinegar at any of my local grocery stores (typical Montreal) so I substituted half a juiced lemon and added a tiny bit of extra sugar for the citrus flavour. Thankfully it was still delicious! Thank you for such great recipes – I’m trying the banoffee pie next! – Hayley

So many people have raved about this recipe…I can hardly wait to try it. I was linked to this blog from another blog that was put on pinterest where everyone was commenting how good this recipe was. I can’t imagine that this many people could be wrong.

Brandy – as long as you like the flavor of olive oil, it should be fine. I don’t like frying (even pan frying) coated chicken in olive oil but it’s just a matter of taste preference. I think canola or vegetable oil works best here.

I’ve made this quite a few times and some tips I have adapted into my version. Instead of granulated sugar use Powdered sugar, about 1 1/2 cups or 1 3/4 cups–the cornstarch makes a thicker sauce without having to cook it down. You don’t have to bake the chicken, just thoroughly cook it when you fry it and by batches and let it keep warm in the oven until you finished all the chicken. You can do this part an hour in advance, I think it dries out the chicken a little, making it somehow better. I add a few slices of hot chilies to spice up the sweet sour sauce. I also decrease the vinegar from 1/2 cup to 1/4 cup — the half cup is just too much. Instead of ketchup I’ve used a good barbecue sauce- it makes it like general tso chicken.

Made this recipe for dinner tonight and…………………It was DELISH 🙂 Everyone loved it, I will most certainly be making this again. Loved the sauce…the best I have ever tried for a sweet and sour sauce. Thank you!

Just had this for dinner….it was awesome! I added veggies in with my extra sauce on the stove and it was perfect. Ive never tried breading chicken this way before but am so glad I did! My hubby said its better than our fav chinese place!! Looking forward to checking out some of your other recipes….

Great recipe! Thanks for sharing!!! One question..what brand apple cider vinegar do you use? I used Braggs and it was very potent. Wondering if other brands aren’t as potent? Either way, we loved it! My husband was sooo impressed!

Mel, I’m making this for the first time and was wondering if I can use olive oil. I usually always cook w olive oil and only have it and veg oil on hand. Is there a specific reason I should use canola? If it makes a difference I can go out in the 25 degree weather and get some, but had rather not! Lol! I’m in Louisiana and we like to stay in when it dips below 40! Ha!

I just made this, and it is fabulous! My only change will probably be to ease up on the sugar a bit next time. It was a little sweet for my liking, but I think that’s just a personal preference.

I always wondered how to cook meat for Chinese food, so I’m glad I tried this recipe – I never knew about the whole cornstarch/egg/searing process before now! It makes such an incredible difference in the texture of the meat and how the sauce sticks.

Consider me another fan! Aside from some mess/smoke alarm issues while frying the chicken (should have turned on fan from the start), this turned out amazing. Leftovers are in the work fridge and I’m anxious to go get!

FYI – I tried this over Rice-a-Roni fried rice and think plain old white rice would be the better way to go.

I tried this recipe tonight and it was the best sweet and sour chicken I’ve ever had!! My husband and sons are very picky eaters and everyone enjoyed this very much!! Thank you so much for the recipe….we will be making it often!!!!!!!

Hi, I just made this for lunch and it was a huge success. My husband, who refuses to eat Chinese takeout from anywhere, thought it was the best and even took leftovers to work for tonight. Thanks so much for the recipe! Will be making it again, and again, and again.

I’ve made this twice so far. It was delicious the first time, and my whole family loved it. Tonight I used half cider vinegar and half rice vinegar (unseasoned) as someone had suggested. I thought it was even more perfect. It is such a winner, and the sauce gets even better as it sits. I think I am going to make it on Super Bowl Sunday as one of my appetizers and serve with toothpicks. Mel, you are amazing!!!

I just made the sweet and sour chicken…. LOVED IT! My hubby and I are sort of picky eaters so I wasn’t getting my hopes to high, but I made it for dinner tonight and it is all gone! SOOOOO delicious!! Thanks for sharing.

I made this for a big family dinner (6 adults and 7 kids), by tripling the chicken (about 9 b/s chicken breasts), and doubling the coating and sauce mixtures. It was a little time consuming and I don’t like the fried smell in the house for days after, but this chicken was definitely worth the effort!

I followed the recipe pretty closely, here were my changes:
– I used slightly less sugar in the sauce and added a splash of sriracha sauce
– I dipped each fried piece of chicken in the sauce before placing in the baking dish (instead of pouring it all over the chicken)
– I baked at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes (instead of at 325 for 60)

This came out exactly as described – and not one single bite was left!!!! So literally, from age 1.5 to 70, this dish was a big hit! Thanks so much for the great recipe!

[…] keep telling me about your delicious dinners so I can make them too! And of course, thanks to Mel’s Kitchen Cafe for the recipe that’s making so many people happy 🙂 Add this to your meal plans for next […]

We had Spaghetti Pie last night & this tonight. This was BIGGER hit than the pie with my picky 6-year-old. I even substituted balsamic & salt for the soy sauce since I’m allergic, and served over Jasmine rice and steamed broccoli, and it was exactly the same as our local take out. I may try coating 2x next time for a little more breading, but as is it is still great (and healthier). I cannot rave enough! So glad I found you through Pinterest!

Mel,
Once again, thank you for a terrific recipe! I just made this sweet and sour chicken tonight and it was simply wonderful! I will definitely be making it again and again!
You rock! I am so grateful I found your site! Looking forward to more great recipes from you! By the way, your kids are adorable! I have three of my own and I can totally relate to working in a kitchen full of youngsters, but I have to say my 8-year-old daughter was great help today with preparing this recipe. 🙂

Hello! I have not cooked this yet,… but it is on the menu for tomorrow. I was wondering if you cover it while baking? I am assuming you do not but wanted to check. Thank you! And everyone is so excited to try your yummy recipe tomorrow.

I found this recipe kn Pinterest and decided to try it because my fiance loves sweet and sour chicken. I made this tonight and he just about died!! He complimented me literally all night on how amazing he thought it was!! So thank you soo soo much for sharing this!! It’s definitely being added to our list of favorites!

Made this for dinner tonight and my family devoured it!! It was awesome to eat a sweet and sour chicken that didn’t taste all fatty and greasy, but healthy and wholesome instead!! I will definitely be making this again and will not be ordering takeout Chinese again!!

Hello!
I am having the same issue as Michelle. I used half cup apple cider vinegar (organic unfiltered if it matters). The smell is so strong and smell/taste way overpowering 🙁
Maybe it’s because I’m not the biggest fan of apple cider vinegar by woowee is it ever strong. Must have done Something wrong 🙁

um, AMAZING. I was a little worried at first as it started baking bc the vinegar was pretty strong, but it mellowed out and my whole family loved it. Extra delicious sprinkled with some sesame seeds for a little crunch! It was the first “chinese” food meal that I’ve made that my kids didn’t complain. It was better than the restaurant! Now we need a good recipe for wonton soup to go with it! Thanks!

Hi, I made this dish and loved it! I was wondering, in an effort to have less white sugar, have you ever tried this using less white or substituting in brown sugar? I don’t want to use fake sugars/sweetners, but was hoping for an alternative.

This is hands down the best sweet n sour chicken recipe I have ever made. So good that I refuse to order Chinese food anymore because it is just so disappointing in comparison. When I make mine, I add a sliced up green pepper, 1/2 bag crinkle cut frozen carrots, and a jar of chunk pineapple right into the chicken/sauce mixture. Then all I need is the rice in the rice cooker and I’m good to go. Love this recipe!

I made this the other night and OMG is it good! And easy! And from the pantry and freezer! I threw in a snack cup of pineapple tidbits juice and all just because I like pineapple in sweet and sour. And maybe next time I would double the sauce just so there is more to pour over rice. Yum! I made it with boneless, skinless thighs because it was what I had. Very tender and moist. I did have some of the coating come off when served. Is there a way to avoid the slippage? Perhaps, coat with cornstarch, set on waxed paper, then repeat, before dipping in egg. No matter, it was very good anyway. I have eaten the leftovers for two more days. This is going on my go to list for those “What in the heck do I make for dinner?” days. Thanks, N.

Made this again last night–absolutely terrific, as always. Threw in pineapple and carrots (may try broccoli or peppers next time). I have an electric skillet, so I did the initial frying, then simply dumped the sauce over the top and added the carrots and pineapple, turning the heat down to about 275 ’til the chicken was done (only about 20 minutes). This dish just keeps getting better! Thanks so much, Mel!

This has become an absolute favourite for my entire family. It is DELICIOUS! Your tip for fluffy brown rice works every time (thanks for that!). I usually serve this with steamed broccoli and sugar snap peas. I also double the sauce, because we love it on our rice. My only change is that I use rice vinegar (it is a staple in my pantry)and the sauce is still divine. Thanks for sharing.

Excellent! Will definitely be making again! I only used 1/2 c sugar in the sauce, so it was a little runny after baking (I also added fresh pineapple chunks, a red pepper and a green pepper…so some of the liquid may have been from the veggies)…but no problem – dumped the cooked rice into the pan and mixed everything up! My 3yo & 5yo liked the “chicken nuggets”. 🙂

I LOVE this recipe soooo much and I have made it so much that my husband is starting to hate me lol tonight however I was a little scatter brained and I did it backwards. Meaning I coated it in egg then the cornstarch lol after I realized what I had done (after the first batch of chicken) I just dipped it in egg again! Problem solved and was still delish!

I just made this tonight…but used a pork tenderloin instead…It was AWESOME!! Followed everything else to a T, and it was so good–it literally did taste like it was take out! I have tried many versions of homemade Asian food, but this one WILL be in the regular rotation.

I was originally led to your blog because I was Googling wheat bread tips, (thanks again for that wonderful bread tutorial!) and I’ve since made a few other recipes!

This was great! The husband approved as did my 18 month old! Next time I’m going to follow a previous poster’s idea of adding onions, bell pepper and pineapple.
Thanks for the great recipe! It was a bit messy, but clean up was a snap and worth it!

Just made this for dinner..and eating it as I type. It’s fantastic! I don’t like Sweet & Sour Chicken from the Chinese restaurant..but I absolutely LOVE this! I will definitely be making this again! So glad I found this recipe on Pinterest 🙂

[…] had a good kick. It was a little hot for our three year old. I would recommend looking at the sweet and sour chicken recipe from the same blog. I made the same one that night and although I personally preferred the spicy […]

This is a great dish. Everyone be warned…. it is not a quick dish. The cornstarch, egg dipping is very time consuming. Definetly double the sauce recipe and add 1 can of pineapple chunks with all of the juice along with some white onion and green pepper.
Yes, winner, winner, chicken dinner!

[…] Save your money and make this! Trust me. You can thank me later. I pinned this recipe from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe quite a while ago. I wish I had gotten around to trying it sooner! The sauce is so simple, and […]

Found this on Pinterest and made it for my review the other night. AMAZING. So good and such easy ingredients! A bit tedious to fry each batch in the skillet but worth the work! I loved it and it’s going into the regular rotation! I raved about it on my blog and linked back to you! THanks!

Hi Suzanne – follow the instructions in the recipe and I promise it will all work out. 🙂 Hundreds of people have tried the recipe as is (dipping in cornstarch then egg) and it makes a delicious crust on the chicken. You can always modify the way you dip/how you dip…this is just the way I make it. Good luck if you try it!

Hi Mel – long time fan of your blog and think I am going to finally take the plunge and see what all the hype is about this recipe. I know you won’t steer me wrong! I was looking over the instructions though and it says to cook for an hour in the oven? is that right? it seems like a lot of time for cut up chicken pieces.

WOW! I just mad this recipe and must say I am obsessed! The sweet and sour aspect of this Chinese classic has always had me completely enthralled, but this recipe is over the top fabulous. The texture, taste, and sauce all come together to make this a great entree that I know I’ll be making over and over again! This is so easy I’ll probably even make it next year at college! Thank you for an overall fantastic recipe! Best wishes and God bless.

I have used the egg/cornstarch for years, since about 1975. But I use standard size cut up fryer. Brown in pan, dip into sauce, cook halfway and then pour on the sauce and finish. It’s been a family favorite since.

Hi Mel! Much love from one Minnesota gal, to another. Thanks for continuing to respond to comments about this recipe. It is FABULOUS. I have the pickiest of picky eaters and they request it regularly. Plus, I feel sooo much better making it myself than picking it up in some greasy brown bag from the local take out. Thank you! Question at hand: I love the sweet and sour version, but am wondering if you have ever tried to make it spicier? Sort of General Tso like? I have searched the internet and keep coming up with these stove top sauces. I’m sure they are good, but the great part about your recipe is how the sauce thickens and comes together in the oven.

I made this tonight, and I have to admit, I’m disappointed. First, my sauce turned out brown instead of red. Secondly, I found the vinegar somewhat overwhelming. I must have done something wrong, since everyone else seems to have had such great results! I’ve read the recipe over and over trying to figure it out, and I measured everything correctly. Any insight? I’d love to try again.

Fantastic recipe!! Thank you thank you! It is also a very forgiving recipe:-) I realized half way through I had forgotten to dip into the egg! I then made the mistake of heating the oven to 375°, IT WAS STILL DELICIOUS albeit slightly over done. But who cared? A keeper, with more care next time!

I just recently found out that this recipe originated here on your blog. I love this recipe and have made it several times and have posted it on my blog twice :). I of course linked back to your blog and I’m happy I found the person who created it to give them credit. Love. love, love it!!

As a beginner, I was hesitant to try this recipe because it (as a rule) is one of my husband’s all-time favorite foods; I knew he would be critical. When I told him it was on the menu for the week, he was not excited (he thought I would screw it up, presumably). When he got home from work hungry, he was still not excited… when I pulled it out of the oven, his eyes lit up! It looked amazing. I kept my cool and hoped for the best as he tried his first bite: mega success!!! He absolutely loved it. The next day, I jokingly told him that I ate the leftovers (there wasn’t much) while he was at work, and he became genuinely sad! Needless to say; this recipe is a keeper. Mel, you are helping my marriage one recipe at a time!

I’ve made this recipe just recently and I loved it so did my husband he raved about it! I am making it again right now but with chicken legs since I didn’t have breasts on hand and didn’t want to massacre the legs, I’ll let you know how it turned out! So far it looks pretty good!

This is my go-to dinner to make for others, but I must confess my shortcut: I dredge the chicken in flour/cornstarch, drizzle with oil and parbake in the oven before adding the sauce and finishing the cooking. Not fried, of course, but still yummy!

I want to start by saying this is a family favorite! i made this last night using coconut oil to fry the chicken pieces. OH ! what a lovely surprise:) frying the chicken in coconut oil took this amazing recipe to new levels. We couldn’t stop eating it! my sixteen year old son said” oh wow! this is amazing!”

Hi – I really want to make your recipe for dinner for my family. My son is allergic to eggs and I am wondering your thoughts on substituting either water, milk or buttermilk? If I dip the chicken in water, then the cornstarch then in milk? I’m not sure it would come out the same or maybe ruin it, which I don’t want to do! Any advice?

Hi Jacki – I’ve never tried it by dipping the chicken in anything other than eggs, but I think it’s definitely worth a try. Go for the buttermilk, I’d say. If it were me, I’d coat in cornstarch then dip in buttermilk. Good luck!

This doesn’t really need another fabulous review, but I felt compelled to write one. I made it tonight & really liked it. I made it with about 1lb of chicken – I bought chicken tenders & it was very easy to cut them into cubes. I would definitely double the sauce like so many people have suggested. Also, I think the addition of bell pepper & onion would make it fabulous! I turned the oven up to 400 for the last 10 minutes to thicken the sauce & that worked really well!

I really liked this but my kids didn’t like the smell and strong taste of the vinegar. Did anyone else have this problem? I’m wondering if I should use a different kind of ACV than the Heinz I had in my pantry? Or is there something I could add or modify to make it not such a vinegar-y taste?

Everytime I make this, my family eats until miserably stuffed!! Everyone begs for this to be on our weekly must have menu….I stash this recipe & whip it up as a surprise. My house is a frenzy over this recipe!!! It is AMAZING. I have made it a bazillion times served with basmati rice, chopped green onions, and broiled zucchini. Thank you so much for sharing. You have made a permanent place in my go to secret recipe dish!!!!! Xo

I must add to my previous post…sauce is very forgiving. I doubled ketchup and soy sauce and used half of the sugar (+used 4 packets of nectresse) the vinegar taste also comes from ketchup. (Maybe use a different type of ketchup.) I always find the “eggy breading” if sizzled in oil until golden brown, it really holds the sauce and carmelizes into that chewy outer goodness and keeps all that heavenly moisture inside the morsels. I think I would definitely try to get this to freeze for easier prep, also wanna try pineapple and pepper and onion chunks. Fabulous!!! This recipe is genius!!!!!!!!!!

Hey Mel, I just came across your website about a month ago, I absolutely love all of your recipes! I made this the other night and it was sooo good! I haven’t looked for recipes on any other website since! Thanks so much!

Hi there! I just tried this recipe, it was good but I’m wondering how do I make it taste less “egg like”. I don’t know if it was dipped too much in the egg or are there any other alternatives to making batter without egg and it turns out the same? Please help!

Great recipe – I have made it several times! I featured my review on my blog today – but I did NOT post your recipe in it’s entirety on my blog, I linked back here for the full recipe (it is incredible to me how many other blogs have posted this recipe and either not given you credit or only linked back to you at the bottom, giving no one any need to visit your page!). This is definitely a crowd pleaser and a family favorite that is now in my regular menu rotation – thanks so much for sharing it!

I found your recipe after making a variation that gave credit (Essentially it was doubled with Worcestershire instead of soy). Even the man who claims not to like sweet and sour chicken LOVED this, everyone did. Thankyou

FAB-U-LOUS!! All that was left was an empty 9×13 dish!!! All of my 3 kids plus my husband LOVED it!! Even my ultra picky 5 year old ate it!! I did substitute boneless, skinless thighs but that was it. Thank you again for sharing the recipe!!

im in the process of making this. it looks good in the oven and im making extra sauce in case the hubby wants more. cooking the chicken pieces is a little time consuming but overall the recipe is easy cant wait to eat it. thanks

This is one of our favorites! I made it for the missionaries recently and I actually quadrupled the batch… It’s a good thing too because there were NO leftovers. I always add diced carrots and a diced green pepper to it. Anything to sneak in a few extra veggies.

I guess I was the only one with an issue of all these commenters. :/ I made the sauce by itself because I didn’t want to bake it, but it was waaay vinegary. I was about to toss it until my sister suggested adding a can of pineapples w/ the juice. Saved the poor sauce. Next time I’m adding half the apple cider vinegar!

Alicia – I’d recommend making the recipe according to the instructions if you want the stellar results everyone else reports. It makes a big difference when the sauce bakes – the vinegar isn’t overpowering. If you are going to make the sauce alone (I often make an extra batch on the stove), it needs to simmer for a while to meld all the ingredients.

I had let it simmer for a long time because I wondered if that was the problem, but it didn’t help too much. I understand that the way I’m making it (sans oven) is going to alter how it tastes, but I try not to use the oven in the summer time, so until autumn….
I made it again, doubled the recipe like last time (big family!) and used half the vinegar, plus the juice from the canned pineapples, and it was amaaazing.

This is so super delicious!!! I made this for my second time tonight, and because we are currently trying to cut out processed sugar, I substituted honey for the white sugar. It worked great!!! So yummy! Thanks so much for your awesome recipes! I am making your decadent chocolate that you just posted today for my husband’s birthday tomorrow.

This was so heavenly Delicious that I just HAD to leave a reply! This recipe came out perfect on the very first try and was a huge success in my family. This wasn’t just a perfect dish, but a masterpiece! Absolutely Delicious! Therefore my search is over and that is thanks to you Mel!:))

Im going to try this out today! Ive been craving all sorts of unhealthy foods in my pregnancy and was searching for a healthier homemade option (now that i can get away from throwing up and actually cook!!) This looks perfect i hope its as tasty as it looks!! (as all ur recipes are) 🙂

I was hesitant to try this recipe because the ingredients just seemed so simple- boy, was I wrong to wait! My teenage son LOVED it! I asked if there was anything I needed to add or change and he said it was PERFECT- better than his favorite Chinese restaurant. He took the few leftovers this morning to school for lunch. I know this is years later than when you posted the recipe but , what can I say, I just now tried it.

Have made this twice now and it is a hit! Definitely going in the repertoire of family dinners. I may even cook this when company comes (and believe me with a husband with a culinary degree whom I can easily pass off culinary entertainment, that is saying a lot!) I’m gaining more confidence in my cooking skills thanks to my results from your blog Mel!!! I hope this blog and all the (obvious) work you do for it is helping you and your family…you are amazing and you need to write a book and get your own cooking show!!! 🙂

I’ve never posted on someone’s site before but this is one of the best recipes I’ve ever found online and I wanted you to know. It has that comfort food taste that Chinese take-out gives you but without the chewy chicken, heavy breading, or overly-sweet sauce. I put some sliced carrots and sweet onions with the chicken and will probably be making this at least once a month from now on. I can’t wait to test out some of your other recipes!

Hi Melanie! I found your blog by accident and so happy I did! I made this recipe last night for my family and mother in law. It was so easy . I had all the ingredients except for the chicken. It was absolutely crazy good. Everyone loved it and my mother in law wanted the recipe. It’s also very inexpensive to make. Thank you so much! I love your site and look forward to trying more of your recipes.
Kimberly

I made this dish last night to rave reviews. It was more time-consuming than I thought it would be: I think it took me about 8 batches of frying, and I had to replenish the egg wash with 2 more eggs halfway through the process. (It didn’t help that my 1-year-old was hollering in his highchair and throwing things on the floor the whole time.) But my husband said the chicken was better than any Chinese food dish he’s had at a restaurant…ever. I’ll definitely be making it again, hopefully with baby in a better mood.

Hey Mel! My mom was just telling me about a bad experience with her last Chinese food experiment and to give her a pick-me-up I told her about your DELICIOUS Sweet and Sour chicken that she should try and that it wouldn’t disappoint. When I got to the website I noticed that for this dish you had a wildly, amazing 599 comments and I knew it must be fate that led me to see that I could be your 600th comment. I feel elated and like a superstar! Thanks for all of your awesome recipes that make me feel like I am the Queen of the Kitchen!

Made this last week and it was very good. Was a little nervous when it was baking since the vinegar smell seemed a bit overpowering but the meal came together great with a perfect combination of sweet and sour. My husband loved it! If forced to choose I liked the firecracker chicken better but only because I love spicy. I’ve printed up so many of your recipes and can’t wait to keep trying them. Great website!

Awesome awesome recipe…kids can’t get enough! I actually made 2 sauces – 1 the way in the recipe and my sauce separate since I added chili paste and some chipolte peppers (put in blender to puree all together). So freaking good! Also added some bell peppers into the sauce. It tastes 10x better than going to a restaurant. Thank you for the wonderful recipe! 🙂

Found this recipe via Pinterest. I made it tonight with a couple variations and it was delicious. I used Arrowroot powder instead of cornstarch to coat the meat and coconut oil to lightly brown the chicken before baking. I also served it over Miracle Noodles which I flavored with about 1/4 C of the sauce which I saved out from the chicken. Tossed in some carrots, bell pepper and broccoli and it was a great sweet/sour stir fry.

I made this chicken tonight — YUMMY!! I did decrease the sugar to 2/3 cup, which was good for our taste. I will DEFINITELY make it again. I did wonder about adding sweet pepper chunks to it the next time. Have you ever done that? If so, for how long do you think they should roast? You should know, I have made several of your recipes and they are ALL terrific! SO nice to be able to have reliability with internet-obtained recipes!

Immediately after posting my question about adding peppers, I read some other comments about adding veggies. Those comments are helpful, but if you have any specific recommendations, Mel, I would appreciate those!

One more comment! For some reason, I thought your photo of this included the finished product sprinkled with sliced scallions. Now I see those are not in the photo! I did serve it with the scallions and they were a tasty addition — a nice contrast to the sweetness of the sauce.

I had a chinese food craving last week and decided to try this and it was great! I love your recipes and have a whole bunch book marked as “must try”. A question though…if I cook the chicken in the skillet and place in a baking dish as directed, but didn’t sauce it until the chicken was done (all while reducing the sauce on the stove) then tossed it together at the end, would that result in crispier chicken? would that even work?! I love a good crunch 🙂

Not sure if you are still wondering 🙂 But I made a small alteration to increase crunchiness, as I generally avoid the texture that is created when fried foods are covered in a sauce. I made everything exactly as instructed, but poured the sauce in the dish first, then put the chicken on top (so only the bottom of the chicken was touching the sauce, instead of being covered in sauce) I cooked 1 hour as directed, and then tossed immediately before serving. It was AWESOME and pretty crunchy. Everyone in our family loved it!

I’ve been making a version of this for years, but deep-fried my chicken. This is much, much better! I do like to add sliced red peppers and pineapple chunks to mine, though. 🙂 Thanks for another fantastic recipe, Mel!

I had some rice and chicken to use up and wanted to make something my kids would actually eat before going out trick-or-treating. My whole family liked this! Particularly since it was Halloween, I decided to cut down the sugar to a scant 1/2 cup, and I still thought it was plenty sweet. Thanks for another winner!

Wow, this was so delicious! My entire family absolutely loved it.
As a side note, after spending the last couple of days drooling over and pinning your archives, I noticed that you live near my hometown. Small world 🙂

I just made this recipe, but I was extremely skeptical so I decided to read probably 300 reviews and not all on this site but all over the web. I am still mad at myself for not following my own instinct! It is a real good basic recipe but I just don’t get the oven part! I ended up with soggy chicken and quite frankly, why wouldn’t I? Seriously, you go to all the extreme to dredge the chicken in the cornstarch then in the egg….not so fun, and then fry the chicken to a crispy crust so why the heck would you soak it in the non cooked sweet and sour sauce at a very low temp in the oven for no less than 1 hour!! Why wouldn’t you end up with a soggy mess? OMG! Please people save yourself an hour!! After frying the chicken then toss it in a big bowl of the cooked down version of the sauce. If you want veggies like onion, peppers and pineapple then just stir fry that on the stove top and add to chicken and sauce then toss, toss, toss!

Hi Mel, when I was making my shopping list recently, I decided that I couldn’t call myself a true MKC fan if I hadn’t at least tried this recipe! 😉 So I made it tonight… the first word uttered after we had taken our first bites was “Wow!” I am astonished at how good this is! I served it with brown rice & steamed broccoli, and cut the sugar in half. It was so incredibly delicious!!!

And the kicker? My (very, very) picky 7 year old son declared this better than chicken nuggets! His all-time favorite food! He said “This is 22% better than nuggets. They’re 78% good, this is 100% good.” Those words almost made me cry. I found a healthy dinner that we ALL like! Thank you!!

I just made this and it is fabulous. I have been looking for the right batter to use for my sweet and sour pork and I couldn’t believe how lovely the coating was with the cornflour and then egg and how quickly it turned golden without cooking it all the way through. i was concerned that the chicken would be dry by the time i fried then baked it. It was just like in the restaurant. The sauce, i doubled the recipe and I’m glad I did. When it was cooking it still had the vinegar smell a bit too strong and also in the extra sauce I had simmered was smelling just a bit too much like vinegar so I added a little pineapple juice and some pineapple pieces. Not pineapple in syrup, in natural juice. I had been reading about this recipe but hadn’t made it before because i thought it couldn’t possibly turn out cooking the breast pieces for an hour but it did. My husband loved it and he only eats sweet and sour at this one particular restaurant because it’s his favourite dish and they do an amazing version but he ate it all up and said he would eat it any time i cooked it. I was so happy. I served it with fried rice. I will absolutely make this again and again. I’ll try it with pork next time.
Thanks so much Mel. I have made heaps of your recipes and they all turn out great. The apple crumble pie is now the only pie my husband wants me to make he loved it so much. I look forward to cooking more of your amazing recipes.

I read the reviews for this recipe so I had very high expectations and I can happily say that this dish blew me away and what’s even better is how much my husband liked it! This is an instant staple now! Thank you for sharing!

I made this tonight and it’s the first time I’ve stumbled on your blog. Absolutely AMAZING! I was a bit overwhelmed by the strong smell of vinegar (I used Bragg’s Apple Cider) so when making extra sauce I added a 1/2 can of crushed pineapple and 2 extra Tbs of sugar. I saw where you suggested perhaps using 1/2 the vinegar so next time (and there WILL be a next time!) I make this I’ll try 1/4 cup vinegar and 1/4 cup pineapple juice. We really loved the pineapple in the extra sauce! This is a hit! Shared all over FB and Pinterest. 😀

I’ve always done my sweet & sour chicken in a crockpot. Ran out of time today and it was my daughter’s birthday dinner request. This was the first recipe I found and it turned out perfect ! A huge hit. Definitely going to make it again, and next time will do the extra sauce. Yum!

I found your blog while searching for a slow cooker beef stroganoff that didn’t include canned soup. I plan to make your Ultimate Beef Stroganoff, but this is the first recipe I made and it CRUSHED it!

My boyfriend walked in the door exhausted and soaked with rain from his 12-hour shift and said happily, “The whole house smells like sweet and sour chicken!”

I didn’t make extra sauce this time because, frankly, I had no idea how amazing it would be. I will not make that mistake again 🙂

Mary – I know it is cumbersome to read through so many comments but if I remember correctly, many others have adapted the type of vinegar. I can’t remember if white vinegar is one specifically that’s been varied but it’s probably worth a try (I know for sure others have used rice vinegar with good results).

I just wanted to add, in case anyone else was curious, that I bake this at 375º with good results. I reduce the time somewhat (maybe 40-45 minutes?). The reason why I do this is because I serve it with baked brown rice, which cooks at that temp. We all enjoyed this dish at my daughter’s birthday dinner last night!

Mel, thanks for an interesting recipe. I must admit that the Sweet & Sour Chicken didn’t go over well, probably due to using Bragg’s Organic Apple Cider Vinegar. The vinegar flavor was really overpowering in the finished product and my twin 12 year old daughters would hardly touch it. Please consider being more specific on the type of ACV recommended in the recipe. I have gone thru all the comments for variations and will gladly make the dish again with some changes. Thanks again for offering a simple to make Asian chicken dish.

Made this recipe and we loved it…. Thx! We are making a friends and family cookbook and I am considering putting this recipe in. It’s not for profit… Just a cookbook for us to share recipes in. Would that be OK? I saw in the FAQ section that it’s ok to reblog with a link but this would be an actual printed book so wasn’t sure…

Hi Mel, I just want to say that I was looking for a simple sweet & sour chicken recipe because I had limited ingredients and in particular no pineapples. So when I saw yours I was like yes! But that was until I got to the ketchup! I said I am not putting ketchup in sweet & sour chicken! I finally decided I would just try it and I don’t have to use it again. Let me tell you that not only was it delish! but my picky granddaughter loved it. I just put it in my favorites and am making noodles to go with it for dinner. Thanks for such a limited ingredient dish that packs a lot of flavor! Moral of this story, lol is to never be afraid to try ingredients that are out of the box.

Trying this tonight! It looks so good and I have read through all the comments to see variations and such. I have everything I need to make this, except the cornstarch so I’m going to try it with flour. I will comment back later after the results. So excited to try this!!!

I’ve never commented on a recipe post before… Ever. But this is just SO good! I had to post! My kiddos, who hate any kind of Asian food, totally cleaned their plates. The directions are well written, the ingredients are simple yet delicious, it came out perfect! And I am NOT a gourmet cook. I’m barely an average cook. You should absolutely try this recipe, 5 stars!

Okay… I made this tonight AGAINST my boyfriend’s wishes. He said: you know I don’t like sweet-sour dishes! BUT… he doesn’t always get HIS way, and if it were up to him we would live on hamburgers and pizza! Yuck! Not that I don’t like those things; I just like a wide variety of foods. Sooooo, I made this and listened to him complain all the while that he is NOT going to like this and the house stinks like vinegar, yada, yada, yada. I served it EXACTLY as pictured, broccoli and all. I thought it tasted fantastic! He, on the other hand, conceded that “well, I guess it’s pretty good”. For me, that’s a victory! I am a very good cook if I do say so myself, so I am trying to get him to broaden his horizons. You have many recipes I want to try! Best Cheesecake is next! Love having pictures too! Keep ’em coming Mel! Love this site!!

I made this tonight. Eating it now! Great taste and flavor. I was quite surprised. My sauce dried up on the chicken. It still had the great flavor but was dry. I will make this again and make extra sauce to add to it after it bakes just to give it a saucy look and taste we like. I served white rice and made homemade egg rolls to go with it.
Great recipe!

We had this for dinner tonight, but since there are only two of us, I only used one chicken breast and cut the sauce recipe in half. Big mistake. This is so good I wish I had doubled it. Especially that fantastic, wonderful sauce. We were practically licking the pan. With only one breast cut into pretty small pieces, and because I cooked it in the skillet a little longer, it only took 20 minutes in the oven at 325, but the sauce was thick and gooey good. It’s on next week’s menu! Thanks, Mel! I can’t wait to try that new pork roast with maple syrup you just posted!

This is so yummy! And for anyone interested in freezing, I tried it and didn’t notice any difference. I made it up to frying the chicken, let it cool, and froze the little chicken pieces in a ziploc. A day before I used it I left it in the fridge and it was thawed the next day. Whipped out the sauce and threw it in the oven. YUM!

I made it again only a couple of days after the first time because after the first time, I was craving it. I used the biggest chicken breast I could find, which was about 1 1/4 lbs., and the full amount of sauce the second time around, and we each had our fill, with just a few bites left over. Not only is this easy, but addicting! I can’t wait to make it for visiting kids/grandkids! They will be blown away, just like I am. I try lots of new recipes, but this one has now become a permanent part of my repertoire. That also means it gets Photoshopped on a pretty “scrapbook” style card with cute graphics, then laminated. When I have more of my recipes laminated, they will be bound into a recipe book.

Hi,
This chicken turned our really well, but I have to say for my taste it is too much vinegar. I already used less, but it still had a strong taste of that vinegar flavour.
Other that that I liked it a lot and it was so easy to make! Thank you!

Mel, love your site. Having an horsduervs only dinner. Want to know how I can make this ahead, With so many different appetizers needing some finishing at the last minute, I.m going to be spinning my wheels. Could I bake the wing ahead & make the sauce ahead & finish later or what. What happens if I make the whole thing & regrig for a couple days . How to reheat? Broil?? need some advice

Hi Dottie – this recipe actually isn’t for wings; were you planning to adapt it for chicken wings? I’ve never made this ahead of time but many people in the comments have given their variations. Good luck!

Crowd pleaser! Everyone raved about this dish. I used coconut oil to fry in for a healthier alternative, it gives the chicken a subtle hint of coconut flavor. I cannot say enough good things about this juicy flavorful chicken!

My husband and I, and everyone else i’ve made this for, just drools over this dish. So simple yet so amazing. Question though, sometimes i’m way too lazy to do the crispy chicken part and just want to saute the chicken with veggies and rice. Can I mix all of that together and then pour the sauce over top in a skillet and just let it simmer? Will it turn out the same as putting it in the oven? Thanks!

I must be the only person who didn’t love this. The vinegar was overpowering. The smell while it was cooking grossed me out. Luckily it tasted better than it smelled but it still wasn’t a home run for us. No one really liked it very much. 🙁

Thank you so much. This was fabulous. I’m always highly skeptical of any recipe for sweet and sour with ketchup in it, but this was wonderful. I’ll definitely be making again. I added a bell pepper and onion that I had quick sauteed then threw it in before baking. I’ll do that again and some chunked up pineapple too. Also, I needed to make it ahead so I cooked it and baked it ahead, then left it on low and it turned out fine. Might have been a smidge better if I hadn’t done that, but it really was still terrific.

I have made this quite a few times and it’s amazing!!! I always add pineapple chunks, sweet onion and bell peppers. I like to add a dollop of chili garlic sauce too. I want to try this with pork! What cut of pork would you recommend?

I’ve been following your blog for about a year. Why haven’t I tried this one yet? I’ve been missing out. I made it the other night with some fried rice, and it was fabulous. Can’t wait to make it again.

Melanie, you are not only an awesome cook, but an awesome person. How do I come to the latter conclusion? Simply by reading your kind and generous remarks/answers to blog wanderers such as I. So I have a question regarding this recipe. I am going to make it for the first time this weekend, for a big family dinner, along with your awesome pork ribs that I have made several times. I only have one oven, so I will be baking the chicken first and then the ribs. Do you think the chicken will be ok if kept warm but not consumed for 2-1/2 to 3 hours? Wondering if it will get soggy or whatnot. Thanks a bunch in advance for any help you can provide.

Thanks, Sophi – you are awfully sweet! So about your question, I think keeping the chicken warm for that long might result in soggy chicken pieces that aren’t very tender. Another option might be to instead make the sweet and sour chicken start to finish the day before, let it cool, cover it and then refrigerate it. You could warm it up after the ribs come out of the oven (place the already baked sweet and sour chicken in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes or so, tossing once or twice). You might need to add a bit more sauce in case it dried out a bit in the fridge. Hope that helps. Good luck with your family dinner!

Once again – OUTSTANDING recipe from your blog! So far everything I’ve made has been a success (and I have not found another blog or site to match your quality and variety). I have shared your blog with many friends because everyone raves about my cooking and I always have to give credit to you. 🙂 I paired this with your fried rice recipe (minus with ham) and it was gone in less than 10 minutes.

Last night I made this for the third time. When he finished eating, my old Hubs did something he’s never done in his entire life. I got a fist-bump, and a “Great meal, Chef!” I have never gotten a fist bump nor been called “Chef” in my life. He has been watching the Food Network a lot, and he is always complementary about my meals and thanks me frequently, but I thought you should know that this delicious dish earned me BIG kudos; probably the biggest I’ve gotten for any dish I have made in 48 years! And I served it over quinoa cooked in chicken broth, just like you do! The two together are a dynamic duo, and I love it as much as he does! I have some sauce left over, since for the two of us I only use one chicken breast, and there’s more sauce than is needed. I think I’ll boil it until thickened and pour it over some pork chops. Yum.

Place all ingredients, except salt, in a small pot. Bring mixture to a gentle simmer (small bubbles should just break on the surface), and simmer until reduced to about 2 cup. Sea-/3 son with salt, if desired, or leave as a low-salt condiment. Pour into a tight-sealing jar and keep refrigerated.

Hi Anna . I use Coconut Aminos in all my recipes that call for soy sauce . My husband actually makes a yummy Pineapple Teriyaki Sauce using them . The same people that make the coconut aminos make a bottled teriyaki sauce . I found it at my local co op . I am making Mel’s Sweet and Sour Chicken tonight using Pork and the coconut aminos …. Is it dinner time yet ??? :0)

made this and my husband loved it! this is a keeper. made the recipe exactly as shown but one thing I should have done was double the sauce since my husband loved it so much. thanks for sharing this recipe…I’m looking forward to trying some more of your recipes… 🙂

This recipe turned out fabulous! I used slightly less sugar (1/2 cup) and also seasoned the cornstarch with some salt and white pepper. Otherwise followed the recipe as is, the flavors were perfectly balanced. Melanie sure knows what she’s talking about when it comes to Sweet and Sour Chicken 🙂 Thanks for sharing a great and simple recipe!

This is AMAZING! My husband took one bite and said “WOW” for about 5 minutes. AND, that is saying a lot because I only had less than 1/4 a cup of cornstarch! I substituted whole wheat flour for the rest. This is my first ‘Asian’ meal success! Will make these again and again!

I made this the first time a few nights ago for myself and my mum. It was meant to be enough for two days but it was so amazing the whole lot went. I can’t even describe how much we enjoyed it, so much we couldn’t stop talking about it for hours afterwards. Yesterday I made it again, double quantities. Both times, even for the double quantities, I only used one small egg. I didn’t dip though, I tossed the chunks of chicken in a bowl with enough cornflour to cover them, then poured the one beaten egg on top and mixed that in with my fingers, works beautifully. I had no cider vinegar so both times used a mixture of about 1/2 white wine vinegar and 1/2 balsamic vinegar. It comes out dark using balsamic, but it is so, so beautiful. Thank you so much! I am handing this recipe out to my entire family; we are never cooking sweet and sour chicken any other way ever again.

Sorry if this is a repeat question but I couldn’t scroll through any more comments to see if the question was previously addressed. Following the cornstarch coating phase, is everybody dipping individual pieces of chicken in the egg and adding them one by one immediately directly to hot pan? It was kinda taking a while so the first pieces had a lot longer than 30 seconds in the pan ;). I love the finished result but I was just curious if there was a better way so you could add them all at same time!

Mollie – I throw several handfuls of the chicken into the egg mixture at once, toss them around with my fingers, grab them all and kind of shake off the excess egg and then toss it into the pan so lots of chicken pieces are cooking at the same time. It’s not a scientific method but it works. I haven’t noticed in the comments if anyone has suggested anything else.

DeLish!
Absolutely LOVE this. I don’t usually alter recipes on my first go, but I did add pineapple bits and sliced green bell pepper to the extra sauce I prepared, and it was lovely. I am definitely reci-peating this one!

[…] This was one of our favorites. I was a little skeptical of the sauce, because I think they can be either a hit or miss. This one was definitely a hit and it turned out perfectly in my opinion.Source: Mel’s Kitchen Cafe […]

Really fabulous dish! I followed your directions and it came out great. I did substitute the apple cider vinegar for rice vinegar but, the flavor was not affected. My picky boys enjoyed it too. A win-win!

I made this recipe this weekend. I decided to follow the exact directions. It turned out SO dry and both my husband and I thought it was too sweet. If I make this again I will definitely half the cooking time and reduce the sugar like the notes say.

I want to try this for my family, but my kids are allergic to eggs. Is there anything else I could dip the chicken in that would have a similar effect you think? It looks delicious, and I think my kids would love it.

Is it possibe that i replace the chicken with pork because i dont have chicken at home? I tried several of your recipes and all of them are a hit to my family. Later i’ll be trying your rocky mountain cookies too. 🙂

I tried this recipe using pork ( since i dont have any chicken last night) and yes it’s still DELICIOUS! The meat was so tender. I stir fry some available veggies from the fridge (carrots cucumber bellpeppers onion) to add color and crunch and toss them 10 minutes before the baking is done and still turns out great. Thank you for this wonderful recipe Mel 🙂

I think I’ve royally screwed this up because I was cooking while the kids were going nuts. Used more chicken than called for, probably two cups of cornstarch, but ended up throwing out at least a 1/2 cup…so it evens out?? Twice the eggs, doubled the sauce ingredients… annnnnd nothing is in a single layer! Sure smells good, so I’m hoping for a great outcome 😉

After having tried numerous recipes by Mel and loving all of them, I couldn’t decide what I liked best… until I made this. This is absolutely amazing!! Thank you!!!!! It is absolutely delicious just the way you prepare it- I followed your instructions exactly and it couldn’t have been any better. Wow!! My husband was beyond impressed.

I thought I would report back for anyone else who was searching the comments for a no-fry method without luck. If you want to skip coating the chicken in cornstarch, egg, and frying it, it works! I made this tonight and did half of the chicken exactly as the recipe describes (which I’ve made many times), and half where I just put the cubed chicken into a baking dish raw and unseasoned, then poured the sauce (made as directed) over it and baked the same way as stated in the recipe. The chicken tasted the same cooked both ways, though there is of course a slight texture difference. As the sauce thickened and browned it browned the raw chicken and gave it a slight crust. I couldn’t decide which version I liked better, they were both delicious! But if time is a concern I would definitely do the simply baked version again. Just wanted to post in case it was helpful to anyone!

My daughter and I made this for the first time last night. It turned out amazing! I baked some of them without the sauce in a separate pan for my “picky” son. He loved it, too! Even without the sauce, the chicken stayed moist, but with a lovely crisp on the outside. This would be a great dish for a gathering as well. So good, I could not stop eating it! This is a keeper. I followed the recipe exactly. Thank you.

I found this recipe when my friend posted this on her FB page…I made the chicken recipe tonight following the directions exactly. It was delicious!! Served it with rice, sauteed onions and carrots, and steamed broccoli. Will definitely make again.

Wow this was amazing!!! My 7yr old is THE pickiest eater & I was shocked to look over & see her plate empty!! I saw a lot of comments of people changing or cutting back. I made it exactly as your recipe called for… PERFECT! Wouldn’t change a thing!!! Thanks!

I really liked this recipe the only thing I would change is fully cooking it in the oil. The chicken cooked in the oven made it kind of soft and not crunchy. I’m used to crunchy Chinese chicken. Also I would like to try it with an egg substitute as well since I’m allergic to eggs as well but when it’s cooked as a batter it doesn’t seem to bother me as much but I would still like to try an egg substitute.

Rebecca – I am not really sure since I haven’t tried it. Someone may have tried it in the comments if you feel like reading through them. It is worth a try I just don’t have a good recommendation. Good luck. Sorry I am not more help!

This recipe is just brilliant! Who would have thought that ketchup could be the base for such a fabulous sauce. Before this, I did not even like ketchup. I cubed chicken pieces and put them directly in the sauce without breading (I saw Trina’s comment after) and the chicken was wonderfully caramelized and succulent. I have made the recipe exactly as stated several times and it is just great, but didn’t really have the cooking bug tonight. The only changes I make are to use white vinegar and put in some sliced green onions. Thank you so much for this recipe!

AMAZING! I’m Chinese and generally don’t bother ordering this at a Chinese restaurant. This will be my go to dish for family potlucks (and I know my family will turn up their noses when I present it) but I predict we won’t have any leftovers at the end of the evening.

I made this tonight. I followed the recipe exactly except I used rice vinegar instead of apple cider vinegar. It was a hit. My teenager says it’s better than Chinese takeout. I think it is more like Sesame Chicken than Sweet and Sour Chicken, but this recipe is a winner!!

Ok, so I must confess that this is actually my third time commenting on this recipe. Sorry for the overkill… I just can’t get over how delicious your sweet and sour chicken is and had to say thanks again! I’m making it for dinner tonight and my husband is PUMPED!!!

This is absolutely one of our favourite family meals. I make this on average once ever 7-10 days. I have been trying to fiddle around with the ingredients to try and reduce the sugar content without compromising on the taste of it. Last night I think that I hit it: my husband said “this is by far the best sweet and sour chicken I’ve ever had” which coming from my hubby is huge. I cut the sugar by half – but then I put 2 tbsp of apple cider vinegar in my 1/2 cup measure and filled up with rice vinegar. It was still sweet enough…and perfectly tangy!

Christine …
Thank you for commenting with your experimentation and changes to reduce the sugar without compromising the balance/flavor. I made this for the first time tonight … I doubled the “sauce” portion of the recipe, but reduced it to 1 1/4 Cups Granulated Sugar (vs. 1 1/2 Cups), using half on the chicken and reducing the other half on the stove top as a “side” sauce. It was delicious, but still too sweet. Next time I will give your alternative a try. I might also experiment with using a “no sugar added” ketchup or even a tomato paste, as regular ketchup has quite a bit of sugar in it. Thanx again for the suggestion.

When I was in college (78-82) my roommate was dating (and is now married to) a guy who is half Chinese and half Italian. His mom gave her Chinese cooking lessons. One of the dishes was Sweet and Sour Pork. The recipe is similar. The difference for the sauce is 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 c. pineapple juice (I put pineapple in mine and use the juice from the can of pineapple), 1/4 c ketchup, 1/2 c. vinegar. It is great, and substitutes some of the sugar for fruit juice, so I assume at least you get some more nutrients!

Just wanted to let you know that we love your recipe so much we have added it to our Family Favorites. I’ve made it bout 6 times now, including this current time (it’s in the oven!). I’m making some homemade Chinese Fried Rice to go with it (I found that recipe on Pinterest so HOPING it is good!).

This is the same recipe I have been using since 1976 when I found it in a Minneapolis Newspaper. When I saw this I got my recipe out and it is the same exact recipe. I even posted it in a group recipe book at our reservation office at Northwest Airlines in 1980. Have always loved this recipe and even use the sweet and sour recipe for other dishes.

So many reviews, but I thought my take may be helpful to those wondering how much sugar to put in. I don’t eat anything sweet and sour in restaurants because it’s too sweet. I reduced the sugar to 1/2 cup at first, but it was still too sweet. 1/3 cup is about right, with the full amount of vinegar. Next time I’ll try 1/4 cup sugar with pineapple chunks and maybe some of the juice. So if you’re like me and my family and prefer sweets confined to dessert definitely cut way back on the sugar! Otherwise the flavor is good and it’s so easy to make, definitely load it up with veggies too, yum!

Just made this today. Did not have an hour for it to cook. I browned the bite-size pieces of chicken for 5 min. per side, then poured on the sauce and cooked about 5 more minutes. Sauce was still “runny” enough to pour over some rice.

A Google Search for Oatmeal Cookie Recipes led me to your website and your Thin & Crispy Oatmeal Cookies … Then to the polar opposite, Thick and Chewy Double Chocolate Cookies. After reading several comments stating it and your Sweet & Sour Chicken were THE best, I ended up here. I just had to make this dish … So, this evening it.was.on. And it.was.DELICIOUS!!! :] A little more time consuming than I’d like … Which I think may have been due to cutting the four chicken breasts into pieces too small, as I ended up using four eggs and had to replenish the oil twice. But, the ending result was still insanely scrumptious. … I did look at your other Asian Inspired Recipes and next time I will prepare this like your Fabulous Orange Chicken. I think it’ll help with time and fat, but without sacrificing flavor/texture. And out of preference I’ll reduce the sugar. I might try adding in some sliced fresh jalapeños and maybe a couple dried red chili’s too (similar to General Tao’s Chicken). We like it sweet, sour, and spicy! 😉 But, it’s definitely going in the rotation. I am SO happy to have discovered your blog/site. I cannot wait to make more … Especially those Thick and Chewy Double Chocolate Cookies!

Absolutely amazing! I found your recipe after Janetha at mealsandmovesblog.com shared it, and my family LOVED it! My husband and I like things a bit spicier but it was perfect for our two little ones and we added the heat after. Will definitely be added to our rotation!

How would you rewarm these? In the microwave or the oven (at what temp. And time). I’m having a birthday party and I want the chicken to still be fresh and ready but done a couple or one hour before the guests come.

I made a half recipe and baked it about 45 minutes. The sauce looked right but was really drying up and the chicken was browned. When I bit into it, it seemed chewy and pretty flavorless. Not sweet at all. I was really careful to measure everything out (halved). Not sure what I did wrong. I never really make Asian food but I’m trying lol. Could you provide tips on what I might’ve done wrong? Too much egg? Too little time in the oven? Double the sauce? I’m not sure :-/

Do you know you have here? A MIRACLE! So MANY recipes, especially with something that has a “breading” type coating on it have some sort of gluten or wheat, this doesn’t. As long as the individual uses a gluten-free soy sauce (which are on the market) then this is a gluten free main dish AND without a boat load of odd products which are outrageously expensive and/or hard to find. Well done!

I know there are already tons of comments on this recipe, but I just had to add mine. I finally got around to making this dish and I have to admit, I was a bit skeptical when it came out of the oven. But, was I ever wrong! It was so good! My boyfriend and I both loved it and we both had seconds. I can’t wait to make it again.

Wow! This is now our favorite chicken recipe. It was absolutely delicious and so easy to make. I used arrowroot powder instead of corn starch because I didn’t have corn starch. I used Braggs Aminos instead of soy sauce (didn’t have soy). Thank you so much for sharing your recipes! Can’t wait to try more of them.

Having noticed this recipe a while ago, I kind of tiptoed around it because my toddler hates chicken. It is the only thing (and I am talking very mature cheese and things like that here!) that she won’t eat. But it just looked too good, so I made an “emergency rice pudding” for her and this for lunch today – and guess what, she loooved it! And so did my husband and I. I added pineapple chunks to the baking dish for the final 20 min. It was sooo good – thank you very much for sharing this great recipe!